Thousands of New York City jobs are at risk after the state's governor put on pause a program that would have reduced traffic and pollution in Manhattan, The New York Times reported.
What happened?
The publication explained that the city was set to implement its congestion pricing program — which would have charged most drivers up to $15 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street — before Gov. Kathy Hochul axed it in June. The new policy was expected to decrease traffic, reduce pollution, and raise $15 billion for the transit agency's $51 billion capital needs plan.
Hochul explained that she paused the program because such tolls could hurt the region's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic more than they helped.
Jay Jacobs, the state Democratic Party chair, supported the governor's move.
"Nobody is saying that congestion pricing was necessarily bad policy," he told the Times. "We're saying that the timing is bad economically."
Why is the stall of this program concerning?
The Times asserted that at least 101,500 jobs could be lost if the state doesn't find another way to come up with the money that would have been generated from the congestion pricing program, adding that a majority of those jobs would have supported the addition of expanded mass transit systems, including new trains and buses, and new propulsion systems.
"The MTA is an economic development engine for the entire region — not just to get people where they need to go, but to create jobs through all the infrastructure they have to maintain and repair and build," Rachael Fauss, a policy adviser with Reinvent Albany, told the Times.
The stall will also have an impact on public health. According to the City of New York, PM2.5 pollution from traffic in the region contributes to an estimated 320 avoidable premature deaths and 870 emergency department visits and hospitalizations each year.
At the same time, these pollutants are contributing to rising global temperatures. In the United States, the transportation sector contributes about a third of the country's planet-warming pollution. Scientists agree that as global temperatures continue to rise we will face an increased likelihood of consequences such as hotter temperatures that put more people at risk of heat-related illnesses and more frequent and severe natural disasters that jeopardize human life and property.
What's being done about air pollution?
Despite postponing the congestion pricing program, New York has a few plans in place to fight dangerous air pollution. For instance, one New York City law will require all Lyfts and Ubers to be electric vehicles by the year 2030. Plus, the state became the first in the country to pass a law banning natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings.
You can help reduce the amount of pollution you produce — while saving money — by moving on from dirty energy sources. You can accomplish this in a variety of ways, including by using public transit more, walking or riding a bike, making your next car an EV, installing your own solar panels, or signing up for community solar. More important than any personal actions, though, is using your voice to support wider changes that can reduce pollution on a larger scale.
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