ALBANY — State legislators from the suburbs are sore losers when it comes to congestion pricing.
On Wednesday, as lawmakers gathered to pass the Transportation, Economic Development, and Conservation piece of Gov. Hochul's $254-billion budget, suburban Republican legislators decided to treat the annual party line vote as a chance to whine more about a toll that is not only working, but more and more drivers actually like.
You could see the grandstanding all the way from the cheap seats.
Sen. Dean Murray (R-Suffolk) who once played semi-pro football in Pennsylvania, complained that the MTA would waste the $6 billion — $3 billion each from the state and the city — that is being allocated to major capital improvements to keep the region's economic lifeblood flowing.
“Do we know, that this $6 billion will be able to reduce fares or make sure there’s a future without fare hikes or more safety on mass transit?” the East Patchogue driver asked Senate Finance Committee Chair Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan).
The former York Lion scrambled around to make a point, which seemed to be about "accountability" and fare evasion.
The MTA says revenue is up 67 percent compared to 2021 and the agency is taking steps to reduce fare evasion, including piloting new turnstiles. The agency also says that total fare revenue was $5 billion in 2024 up $322 million from 2023.
Krueger said the MTA’s "transparency" has become "much more impressive.” She cited the dashboards sharing data from congestion pricing, and said one of her staff members jokes that there is too much information.
“Three billion here, three billion there,” Murray continued. “As the old joke goes, pretty soon you're talking about real money. Well, we're talking about money coming from the people of New York. They're sick and tired of it. I'm sick and tired of it. … It's why I’m going to vote no.”
Last year more than a dozen bills were introduced to kill or water-down congestion pricing. Two such bills, by state Sen. Bill Weber (R-Rockland), would either repeal congestion pricing outright or simply exempt Rockland County residents. On Wednesday, he complained that Rockland County has less transit than the other suburbs in the agency's service area, even as its residents pay the congestion toll when they drive into Manhattan.
As an example, he mentioned his wife, who had recently taken the kids to a Broadway play. But when Krueger, a theater lover whose district includes Broadway, asked for him to name the show they saw, he said he did not know.
Krueger pointed out that the $9 congestion toll was a pittance compared to the cost of the car, the gasoline, the Broadway tickets and the $40 they likely spent on parking.
“The amount that you're paying for congestion pricing is actually a relatively small increase in the total cost," she said. "And the good news on the research is theater has not come down since congestion pricing has started. Restaurants have not come down. There are more people on the streets.”
The Broadway League has reported that Broadway shows enjoyed higher revenues in January 2025 than January 2024, Streetsblog has reported.
Weber said he wasn't complaining on his wife's behalf, but on behalf of cops, firemen, and people in trade unions who are apparently well off enough to drive from their suburban homes to the central business district, but not well off enough to pay the toll.
The budget vote was briefly delayed while lawmakers wondered which play the Weber family had seen, so there was a relieved chuckle when Weber announced that his son texted him that it was Romeo and Juliet, a Gen-Z take on the tragedy. (The play has completed its run.)
Weber picked the wrong play to mention if he was hoping to complain about congestion pricing. During Christmas Week, traditionally one of Broadway's busiest periods, the play grossed $1.1 million. During the first full week of congestion pricing — after the holiday season — the play grossed $1.26 million in the same eight performances.
Towards the end of the gripefest, state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) had had enough with GOP lawmakers from Long Island, saying the most subsidized part of the MTA is the “L-I-R-R,” spitting out its initials.
If MTA funding was cut, he said, “The people of Long Island will be paying higher fares. ... So spare me. Or at least tell your constituents what you’re really advocating for.”
After the 40-22 party line vote, Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jeremy Cooney (D-Rochester) was happy to say what he was advocating for: congestion pricing.
The toll, he said, had made driving faster and quieter in Manhattan.
“And it's expected to raise the revenues that it was anticipated to do," he added. "So we're going to continue forward. Whether we're fighting it from the Trump administration or whether we're fighting it in the halls of Albany, the system's working.
“We need to fund capital plans and expansion plans and different types of transportation,” he added, “whether we're talking about high speed rail upstate or whether we're talking about a more robust MTA expansion into Rockland County and also Orange County.”
