With Election Over, BP Fossella, Rep. Malliotakis, Bipartisan Group Of Elected Officials Make Statements on Potential Revival Of Congestion Pricing

With supporters of congestion pricing urging an expedited revival of the plan before Donald Trump is sworn-in as President, we want to state loudly and clearly to our State and City leaders – congestion pricing must remain derailed, for good reason.

On the merits, we maintain our strong opposition to congestion pricing because it is wrong for Staten Island. The government’s own reports reveal that air pollution would get worse, traffic would get worse, and we would have to pay a hefty toll for that additional burden. It makes absolutely no sense for us to support congestion pricing.

If the reports are true that congestion pricing may once again rear its head, knowing that President-elect Trump opposes congestion pricing and has previously declared he would terminate it in his first week in office, this feckless turnaround would have consequences.  It would be one of the most cynical, bad-faith actions that the people of Staten Island have ever seen.

It would signify that the original postponement of the plan was a blatant politically expedient ploy to save some elected officials from losing votes in the election, due to the widespread unpopularity of congestion pricing.

Reviving congestion pricing would reinforce why voters are skeptical of political leaders.

Clearly, our federal litigation is still pending in court. We intend to pursue it with full force if necessary.

Further, Staten Island will make the case in Washington to keep congestion pricing at bay, if it cannot rely on its home state of New York to protect and defend its health, well-being and interests.

(STATEN ISLAND, NY) – Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis joined a bipartisan group of local elected officials to unite against the potential return of Congestion Pricing in light of President Trump winning the 2024 election and vowing to terminate the program during his first week back in office.

“I’m proud to stand here with my colleagues in a bipartisan way to tell the Governor: ‘There is no way we will allow you to move forward with Congestion Pricing without a fight, and we will fight you tooth and nail until Congestion Pricing is dead for good’,” said Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis. “The Governor should learn, look at the will of the people – listen to the will of the people – who’ve made it very clear that they do not want this tax cash grab…I’ve personally spoken with President Trump about the congestion tax. He is opposed, he sees that it’s detrimental to our city’s economy, and that it will hurt hard working New Yorkers. I believe as long as we can continue to extend this until after January 20 that it will be dead upon arrival. In the meantime, we’re looking for every single angle, both legislatively and legally from the federal perspective, to see how we can stop this before or after it potentially takes effect.”

“Congestion Pricing is nothing more than a scam,” said Congressman Mike Lawler. “It is about raising a billion dollars so the MTA can borrow $15 billion for its bloated and mismanaged operations, and it needs to be stopped dead in its tracks…This is the same agency that has pissed away billions of dollars over decades of mismanagement. The Congestion Pricing scam will cost the average commuter from Rockland County or Westchester or the outer boroughs $5,000 a year more if they work in the zone – on top of the tolls they already pay, on top of the high gasoline prices that they incur. It’s outrageous. People cannot afford to live in New York, and it’s crap like this that’s driving them out of the state.”

“We’re here today to talk about congestion pricing and how we want to continue the pause and stop it all together,” said State Senator Jessica Scarcella-Spanton. “I proudly joined a bipartisan lawsuit – with Borough President Vito Fossella, the UFT, the colleagues you see here behind me – to stop Congestion Pricing from starting. I rallied against it, and was vocal not only about the financial implication, but the environmental detriment to my district as well, which you can read in the MTA’s own environmental impact study. Staten Island already has high asthma rates, high cancer rates, and this plan shows that every pollutant will increase and our air quality will get worse if this is implemented…Governor, I urge you to not lift the pause on Congestion Pricing and to let this program lapse.”

“We are here to be to the people who feel like they don’t have a voice,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. “Last week, the people of this country and around here said enough, and if you want to see ‘Exhibit A’ of cynicism and exploiting the political process, resurrecting congestion pricing is just that. A number of months ago, we sued in federal court to stop Congestion Pricing because it is a burden on the people of this borough and this region…This whole process is a scam – they try to fool people, run through Election Day and then bring it back. I hope the good people of this city, state and region shut it down once and for all.”

Other attendees of today’s press conference include State Senator Andrew Lanza, Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, Assemblyman Michael Reilly, Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, Assemblyman Michael Novakhov, Assemblywoman Jaime Williams, Councilmember Joseph Borelli, Councilmember David Carr and Councilmember Kamillah Hanks.

Malliotakis is a founding member of the bipartisan Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus that has introduced several pieces of legislation to stop congestion pricing, including the Make Transportation Authorities Accountable and Transparent Act and the Economic Impact of Tolling Act. Malliotakis is also a plaintiff on a federal lawsuit against the MTA, alleging the agency skirted federal environmental law to implement congestion pricing without conducting the proper studies.