Testimony to the MTA Board in Support of Immediate Implementation of Congestion Pricing

June 25th, 2024

To the Board Members of the MTA:

The New York Building Congress represents 500 constituent organizations and over 250,000 skilled tradespeople and professionals. On behalf of our members who build New York, I am here today to voice our indignation over the decision to indefinitely pause congestion pricing.

After years of careful consideration, countless studies, and much debate, we were just weeks away from a congestion pricing plan that would have helped us reimagine our transit system in a manner befitting our great city - only for the Governor to abruptly announce its pause, throwing not just the future, but the present state of the MTA, into chaos. No alternative solution has yet been proposed to make up the $15 billion of MTA capital funding dependent on its revenue, nor does one exist.

This postponement puts more than a quarter of the MTA's capital budget in limbo and leaves the MTA without the financing needed to transform the region's transit into a world-class system that is accessible and equitable for all. That was made clear last week when the MTA canceled contracts for the long-awaited Phase II of the Second Avenue Subway-leaving the residents of East Harlem in the lurch-and announced a reevaluation of plans to make stations accessible and signal systems modernized. Aside from the critical infrastructure updates, thousands of union construction jobs would be lost without these projects.

On behalf of our membership and the entire industry, we implore the Board today to proceed with the meticulously-studied congestion pricing program, as planned and as previously approved, four days from now on June 30. The implementation of congestion pricing is imperative for a safer, cleaner, more equitable New York.

Thank you.