Dear John,
Keep the cameras on!
That was the message I had for the Trump Administration this morning. Standing alongside Rep. Jerry Nadler and advocates the day before President Trump threatened to shut off federal funding to the MTA if Congestion Pricing wasn’t halted. Not only is the threat illegal and bogus, history also shows us that denying the MTA money will only exacerbate the crime and public safety issues Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy are claiming to address.
Then again, they don’t even know what the New York City Subway looks like, so why would New Yorkers trust them to know what’s best for the MTA and its millions of daily riders?
It was those riders who won the congestion relief that has brought us safer streets, cleaner air, faster buses, and a critical MTA revenue source for urgent upgrades to the subway system. And it was those riders who stood in unison to let this administration know that public transportation is the lifeblood of New York City and we’re not going back to Reagan-era cuts or Cuomo’s “Summer of Hell.” |
As Rep. Nadler said, Donald Trump just can’t stop losing in court.
Maybe that’s why he decided to extend the arbitrary deadline to end congestion pricing another 30 days. Despite Trump and his cronies’ attempts to jam up our federal funding, today’s announcement only underscores they have no legal authority to cancel congestion pricing – and that this policy is here to stay.
We’re saying it now, and we’ll say it again in 30 days.
Real New Yorkers see through this political showboating and will not be bullied into abandoning cleaner air, faster trains, or equitable infrastructure.
Brad |
