After NY ignores latest deadline, feds give yet another month to stop toll that Trump hates

Source: AP

Updated 3:00 PM EDT, April 21, 2025


NEW YORK (AP) — Twice this year, the Trump administration has given New York an ultimatum to end a toll on most drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan -- and twice the state has ignored it.

On Monday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy gave the state another 30 days — until May 21 — to stop collecting the toll, or at least explain why they’re not breaking the law by continuing with the program after the government revoked its federal approval in February.

Duffy, in a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, warned the state risks losing federal funding and approvals for certain projects from the Federal Highway Administration if it fails to comply. But Hochul, a Democrat, was unmoved. “I repeat: congestion pricing is legal — and it’s working. Traffic is down, business is up and the cameras are staying on,” she said in a statement, referring to the system of traffic cameras used to assess the toll.

The fee, which began Jan. 5, is meant to reduce traffic jams and raise billions of dollars in revenue for New York’s subways, commuter trains and public buses. But President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker whose namesake Trump Tower and other properties are within the congestion zone, had vowed to kill the plan as soon as he took office.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/manhattan-congestion-pricing-trump-new-york-toll-03dc6457f743b856e764dcf20f4f1855