Congestion pricing raises concern among restaurant owners

WABC logo
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Gov. Murphy asks President Trump to review congestion pricing in NYC
Anthony Carlo has more on New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy asking President Donald Trump to end congestion pricing in New York City.

HELL'S KITCHEN, Manhattan (WABC) -- At this time of year, eateries along restaurant row in Hell's Kitchen are craving business in the post-holiday lull.

New York City Restaurant Week kicks off Wednesday for that just reason - to lure customers in with deals.

Many restaurant owners will tell you any traffic is good traffic during this, one of the coldest weeks of the year.

But now, as if business wasn't slow enough already, they're dealing with what could prove to be another deterrent: congestion pricing.

"Those extra customers that are coming in from the Tristate area, they may drive in," said Andrew Rigie of the NYC Hospitality Alliance. "Maybe it's really cold out. They don't feel like taking public transportation. I mean, there's a million different reasons. But we're hoping that combined with just great restaurants and Restaurant Week it can give them that extra nudge."

Amid this, New Jersey's governor is now nudging President Trump over the congestion pricing issue, wasting no time penning a letter about the impact on his commuters.

"One area where I believe our priorities align," the Democrat wrote, "is congestion pricing."

The governor reminded Trump of his promise to "terminate Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in Office!!!"

In Murphy's view, the plan "is a disaster for working- and middle-class New Jersey commuters."

On Tuesday, the governor said he is not asking the president to kill the program, but he does want a proper environmental impact study on the re-routing of pollution to the Garden State.

"I've said publicly from Moment One, we will live with the results of that study," said Murphy. "I'm only asking. The Biden administration, for whatever reason, did not do that. They did a short version of that. We think it was incomplete. We know it was incomplete. We're asking the Trump administration to do what the Biden administration did not do."

The MTA has pushed back on Murphy's position, citing what it has said is an extensive 4,000-page environmental assessment and surviving legal challenges in federal court thus far.

On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who put the plan in place, also weighed in.

She said if President Trump somehow puts an end to congestion pricing, "that comes with $15 billion more they'll need to give New York if that happens. That's $15 billion of lost investment that we'll need to have, not from the state but from the federal government."

Owners along Manhattan's Restaurant Row hope local government can understand how they feel the pinch of the new toll.

"We always say if government is going to make running a business in New York City more expensive and harder to do, at least find other ways to help mitigate and eliminate other challenges to help support these small businesses," said Andrew Rigie.

ALSO READ | Student authors honored after immigration stories featured in book

Janice Yu has more on the 58 immigrant students in Newark recognized for the book they wrote, "We Were Strangers Once, Too."

----------


* Get Eyewitness News Delivered


* More New York City news


* Send us a news tip


* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts


* Follow us on YouTube


Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.

Copyright © 2025 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.