Standing around a crowd of supporters touting congestion pricing’s success in New York City, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) refused to budge against the Trump administration‘s funding threats.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a letter Tuesday that the New York City Transit Authority must reduce transit crime or else the federal government will withhold federal funding. Duffy recently announced a 30-day extension to end congestion pricing.
Hochul refuted Duffy’s assertions that crime is rising in the system and pointed to numbers that show crime has been down 50% since 2001. She also continued to appeal to President Donald Trump’s background as a New Yorker.
“Our president is a New Yorker,” Hochul said. “He understands that we don’t exist without a highly functioning, effective, safe subway system. So if they want to help us make it even safer, despite the fact that we’re down 24% in crimes from last year, 29% since 2019, down 50% from 2001.”
“I think we can do better,” she added. “Send us my money, and we’ll continue to do that.”
Hochul also slighted Duffy in her comments, suggesting he should focus less on safety in the subways and more on air safety. Air safety has been a hot topic for the Transportation Department, with two major North American plane crashes happening since Duffy was sworn in, including the collision of an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter over the Potomac River, which killed dozens of people.
The air accidents put heat on Duffy during an air traffic controller shortage.
“If the Secretary of Transportation is so worried about safety, why don’t you look upward and worry about safety in the skies, which you actually have control over,” she said.
Duffy told Hochul on Thursday that the Trump administration is putting the city “on notice.”
“Your refusal to end cordon pricing and your open disrespect towards the federal government is unacceptable,” Duffy said in a post on X. “Just as your high tolls and no free road option are a slap in the face to hard working Americans, your refusal to approve two vital pipelines that will lower fuel costs by 50% are against the public’s best interests. Your unlawful pricing scheme charges working-class citizens to use roads their federal tax dollars already paid to build.”
“Know that the billions of dollars the federal government sends to New York are not a blank check,” he added. “Continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly.”
The federal government sends the Metropolitan Transportation Authority billions of dollars in funding. Of its $68 billion budget through 2029, at least $14 billion is expected to come from federal grants and funds.
Duffy pulled approval for the congestion pricing plan on Feb. 19, triggering a legal challenge from the MTA, which relies on the toll program to fund its capital project. MTA Chairman Janno Lieber has touted the toll’s environmental and business benefits since its start in January.
“The good news is that the program, which has had such amazing benefits for New Yorkers — faster travel, cleaner air, fewer crashes, less honking, quieter, better environment for all, and also great economic benefits — all that is going to continue,” Lieber said.
“The program has been underway for 10 weeks now, and it’s been successful by every standard,” he continued. “And it’s the right thing to do for New York to continue it.”
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Hochul has met multiple times with Trump to discuss congestion pricing.
Her most recent meeting with Trump last Friday didn’t yield any direct results, although it was called “productive.”
