A union boss slammed New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) for her “atrocious, disgusting” decision to implement a congestion toll amid surging subway crime.
Phil Valenti of the Transport Workers Union Local 106 told the New York Post this week that New Yorkers are being forced to choose between paying costly tolls or traveling in the city’s crime-ridden subway system.
‘We now have the mentality ill from all over the world, who are homeless, walking our streets, taking our subways and killing people randomly.’
With the congestion toll slated to take effect on Sunday, Valenti told the news outlet, “New Yorkers have been forced into a terrible and unfair position.”
“To put congestion pricing in now is atrocious, disgusting — a real slap in the face,” he remarked. “The subway system is unsafe right now. Give me a break.”
“You can pay $9 to enter the congestion pricing zone or take the subway, where violent crime is soaring. At least some drivers will be afraid to take the subway, undermining the entire purpose of congestion pricing. MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul are to blame for this absolute mess,” Valenti explained.
Hochul previously halted a proposed $15 toll in June following a wave of public and legal pushback. However, after the November election, she revived the plan at a lower price.
Passenger vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street will be forced to pay a $9 toll, small trucks $14.40, large trucks $21.60, motorcycles $4.50, taxis $0.75, and Uber and Lyft drivers $1.50.
“It was $15 before; now it is $9. That is a 40% reduction,” Hochul stated in November. “This lower toll will save daily commuters nearly $1,500 annually, and that kind of money makes a big difference for our families. And there’ll be further discounts for low-income New Yorkers. Car owners who make less than $50,000 a year will get a 50% discount on every toll after their 10th toll of the month. In addition, after 9 p.m., the toll is discounted even further.”
Valenti told the Post that solving the MTA’s $700 million yearly losses from subway and bus fare cheaters should be prioritized over implementing a congestion toll.
“With Gov. Hochul’s policies of New York state being a wide-open sanctuary state, we now have the mentality ill from all over the world, who are homeless, walking our streets, taking our subways and killing people randomly,” Valenti said. “Riders and workers are not safe.”
The city’s unsafe conditions prompted the Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime-prevention group, to begin patrolling the subway system.
Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels’ founder, told the Post, “We’re covering the actual trains from front to back, walking through the trains and making sure that everything is okay.”
MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan told the news outlet that crime on the subway was “down 5.4%” in 2024.
MTA chief security officer Michael Kemper said, “Thousands of NYPD Transit officers are working every hour of the day and night to make the subway safe, and the record reflects they are making an impact.”
“I know firsthand that to suggest otherwise disrespects the commitment to transit workers and riders, and real results delivered by those officers,” Kemper remarked.
A spokesperson for Hochul’s office told the Post, “Governor Hochul cut the congestion pricing toll by 40%, squashed a potential 25% surge fee, and is fighting every single day to make the subways safer for commuters and transit workers.”
“The governor deployed an additional 1,250 uniformed law enforcement personnel to support NYPD’s efforts to protect subway passengers, and she’ll continue working to fight crime and improve public safety,” the spokesperson added.
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