Cuomo does a congestion pricing flip-flop
Then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo addresses a meeting of the Association for a Better New York in Manhattan in 2019. Credit: Charles Eckert
Andrew M. Cuomo was a month into his third term as governor of New York when he appeared at a February 2019 luncheon hosted by the Association for a Better New York. It was a familiar — and friendly — platform, one he often used to make his case.
Against the backdrop of a presentation that included images of John Travolta on the subway tracks, a bottle of Tide on the platform, and a pile of M&M's, Cuomo focused on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's “management and money” problems.
To solve the latter issue, Cuomo ran through nine potential options. Of them, he said, two were viable: Raising fares and tolls by 30%, or tolling Manhattan's central business district, the concept known as congestion pricing.
The words alone drew applause from the Cuomo-friendly audience. Then, Cuomo called congestion pricing the “best and logical and realistic option” of the bunch.
“It would reduce congestion, it would reduce pollution,” Cuomo said.
At the luncheon, Cuomo said he was willing to take on the issue's political quagmire, no matter how difficult. At the time, that was easy to say; he had just been reelected by a huge margin.
The picture Cuomo painted and the arguments he made then remain true now. But his political landscape has changed dramatically. So, apparently, has Cuomo's stance on congestion pricing.
In an interview last week with Fox 5's Good Day New York, Cuomo emphasized that the post-pandemic workplace gives people the option to “stay home.”
Putting himself inside a driver's mind, he made the anti-congestion pricing argument.
“The cost has gotten too high. It's another impediment. I don't want to pay a higher toll to drive into New York City that has high crime, that has homelessness,” Cuomo said. “I'll stay home.”
There's no doubt the way we work has changed significantly, with remote or hybrid schedules far more commonplace. But the region's tolled bridges are at more than 100% of pre-pandemic capacity, a sign that many people are not choosing to stay home. Manhattan's streets continue to be clogged with cars, trucks and buses as they were before. And, as Cuomo pointed out in 2019, the percentage of residents from the outer boroughs and New York suburbs who commute by car was already minuscule — hovering between 0.8% and 2.3%. That's just not the population congestion pricing targets most.
Cuomo's circumstances have shifted significantly, too. More than two years after he resigned in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal, Cuomo now seems to be paving the way for a comeback. Polls show he'd lead in a hypothetical race to replace Eric Adams as New York City mayor if Adams were to resign. But Cuomo's road back might not be as easy as that reelection five years ago, so his political calculus is likely different. Perhaps those calculations indicate that he needs to oppose congestion pricing. Or perhaps he just wants to play the role of contrarian.
Either way, the Cuomo of 2023 needs to listen to the Cuomo of 2019.
The Cuomo of 2023 said he'd “like to see an analysis that shows today's present reality.”
The Cuomo of 2019 implored his ABNY audience to “do better … be honest … step up … address the issue … take on the politics.”
“What we can't do is what we've done in the past. We can't punt,” Cuomo said then. “For decades we've punted this problem. I am not going to be one of those people who punted the problem.”
Or would he?
Columnist Randi F. Marshall's opinions are her own.
Randi Marshall is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
