MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump is moving to kill New York City's congestion pricing program. That's a daily toll for vehicles that enter Manhattan below 60th Street. During his campaign, he promised to end it, but Governor Kathy Hochul is vowing to fight him on it. Stephen Nessen from member station WNYC is following all this.
STEPHEN NESSEN, BYLINE: In a letter to the governor, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who once starred on the MTV TV show "The Real World," writes the $9 daily toll for vehicles isn't fair to drivers, and the Biden administration should never have approved the congestion pricing program in the first place. Speaking at a news conference, Governor Kathy Hochul fired back.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
KATHY HOCHUL: It's not "The Real World," Sean.
(LAUGHTER)
HOCHUL: It's real life for New Yorkers, and don't you forget that.
(CHEERING)
NESSEN: New York state spent five years studying congestion pricing, ensuring it would reduce traffic and comply with all federal laws while also raising much-needed revenue for the ailing transit system. President Trump boasted on his social media site that, quote, "congestion pricing is dead. Manhattan and all of New York is saved. Long live the king." Hochul had a response ready.
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HOCHUL: New York hasn't labored under a king in over 250 years.
(CHEERING)
HOCHUL: And we are not - we sure as hell are not going to start now.
NESSEN: The two leaders had planned to meet last week, but after Trump's Justice Department ordered the southern district to drop federal corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams, Hochul canceled the meeting. Anticipating that Trump would make good on his campaign pledge to kill the tolling program, which had been unpopular with residents of the Hudson Valley, Long Island and parts of New Jersey, Hochul said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was ready with a counter lawsuit to keep the toll program running. Keeping with the fighting theme, like Sly Stallone in the film "Rambo," she says she's not backing down.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
HOCHUL: Someone draws first blood. You respond.
NESSEN: Her response - the tolling cameras are staying on for now. But the final decision will now be up to a judge.
Jack Lester is a lawyer who sued the MTA to halt the program and lost in federal court. He believes the Trump administration does have the authority to kill the tolls.
JACK LESTER: The federal government has discretion to halt the program. It's not a mandatory program.
NESSEN: Since early January, when the tolls went into effect, traffic in the city has decreased by 9%. That works out to 1.2 million fewer vehicles, according to the MTA. And a recent poll finds 6 out of 10 New Yorkers don't want Trump to kill the tolls.
For NPR News, I'm Stephen Nessen in New York. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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