Let’s be clear, Gov, Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing plan isn’t about protecting the environment or easing traffic, it’s about forcing another tax on working and middle-class New Yorkers to bail out the bloated and corrupt MTA. It’s one more burden imposed by a state government that has lost touch with the people it’s supposed to serve, hurting families, workers and our state’s economy.

Hochul’s plan will penalize people for the “sin” of needing to commute to Manhattan to earn a living — including small business owners, police officers, firefighters, teachers and other essential workers who serve New York City and our state every single day. Hochul’s plan charges these folks up to $2,500 per year just to get to work — and then she has the gall to tell them she’s doing them a favor by not making it $5,000 a year. Thanks a lot, Kathy!

Make no mistake, congestion pricing is a symptom of a deeper problem in our state: government overreach and mismanagement. The MTA is one of the worst-run agencies........

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