Monday’s Headlines: Congestion Pricing Cometh Edition

Monday is congestion pricing day at the MTA Board.

The board will vote on Tuesday to approve Gov. Hochul’s $9 toll idea, which transit officials previewed in public materials released on Friday. As Gothamist/WNYC reported on Sunday, the MTA plans to increase the once-per-day toll from its $9 launch price to $12 in 2028 and $15 in 2031.

Several outlets ran FAQs on the upcoming tolls at the tail-end of last week, including Gothamist/WNYC, The City and the Daily News.

In amNY, MTA CEO Janno Lieber touted the resumption of long-awaited transit improvements he was forced to pause when Hochul called off congestion pricing’s original June 30 launch date. QNS broke down “mixed reactions” to the toll in the World’s Borough, while The Post amplified decidedly not mixed reactions in its “Letters to the Editor” section.

With the tolls once again on the horizon, The Post and its Republican allies smell blood — time will tell whether their political big-talk pans out. The Times explored whether Hochul will “find a higher political cost” for implementing the tolls, even at $6 cheaper than initially planned. Whether congestion pricing is still a live issue in 2026 remains to be seen, but the question is only being asked because Hochul refused to implement the toll before this year’s election. CBS2’s Marcia Kramer discussed the toll’s political implications and prospects in a weekend interview with State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal.

“I would urge the Republicans and fellow Democrats who oppose it: Give us a chance to see if it works,” Hoylman-Sigal said. “The great thing about congestion pricing is you can change it. … It is in effect a dynamic pricing system.”

Streetsblog will be following the story on Monday and the rest of the year leading up to the (hopeful) Jan. 5 launch (finally) of congestion pricing.

For now, check out what we have for you today:

• Sophia Lebowitz on the latest evidence that open streets benefit New York City businesses — storefront vacancies are lower on pedestrian-first streets than streets designed to prioritize automobile.
• Dave Colon on AOC and Ritchie Torres joining forces to oppose Gov. Hochul’s Cross-Bronx highway widening.

In other news:

• The Port Authority’s Newark AirTrain project is officially 75 percent more expensive, after Port officials approved a new price tag of $3.5 billion on Thursday. (Crain’s)
• It’s do-or-die week for Mayor Adams’s “City of Yes for Housing” agenda. But instead of reading the Post‘s coverage, why not review our months of intense scrutiny.
• New York Building Congress CEO Carlo Scissure thinks President-elect Trump can “get excited” about revamping Penn Station. (Crain’s)
• “Devastating”: Rockaway subway riders are fretting over the upcoming 17-week A train shutdown. (The City)
• New York Magazine spoke to Trump voters in the city’s working class immigrant precincts.
• A truck driver killed a 30-year-old Brooklyn dad who was pushed into the street while “wrestling with a pal.” (Daily News)
• It will take “years” to regrow the two-acre section Prospect Park damaged by a recent wildfire. (NY Post)
• A 16-year-old from Trinidad is suing Citi Bike for faulty brakes she claims led to her crashing and breaking her jaw. (NY Post)
• DOT will reopen a long-shuttered public space beneath the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan on Monday. (Gothamist)
• A man is fighting for his life after being hit by another driver after pulling over to inspect a fender bender on his car on the Bruckner Expressway. (Daily News)
• And finally, traffic safety advocates gathered in Flushing on Sunday to commemorate World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. (Families for Safe Streets via X)