Hochul ‘massaging’ proposal in Albany to replace lost congestion pricing money

More than two months after pausing congestion pricing, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she is “massaging” a proposal through Albany to replace the money lost from the Manhattan toll freeze — though she is still vague on the details of how else to raise $15 billion for mass transit improvements.

At an unrelated Aug. 6 event, Hochul said she is attempting to tweak previous proposals that she failed to maneuver through the Legislature following her shock June 5 announcement of the pause, which blew a massive hole in the MTA’s ambitious modernization plans. Those attempts, including raising payroll taxes on city businesses and reallocating money from the state’s general fund, failed to sway legislators.