Congestion Pricing is Back — But Why Did It Ever Go Anywhere in the First Place?

Five months after Gov. Hochul tried to kill congestion pricing under the guise of a "temporary pause," she threw herself a celebratory press conference on Thursday to announce the toll's return early next year at $9.

As Hochul told it, in June she "stood up on behalf of hard working families and simply said, 'No, no to a new $15 congestion toll.'" As for the "working families" who rely on the train and the bus to get to work — also known as 90 percent of commuters into the Manhattan central business district — Hochul declined to brag about how she said "yes" to traffic in front of those buses and "no" to new subway elevators, trains and upgraded train signals.

She argued that a $15 toll is too high for drivers, so she gave them a 40-percent discount. And Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North customers? No such discount — those suckers are still paying roughly $15 per day in fares.