YES, IN YOUR BACKYARD: She’s blasting him on his own turf. Gov. Kathy Hochul — who nearly killed congestion pricing before reviving it and proclaiming herself a hero of mass transit — celebrated her newfound commitment to the MTA today. She also made a political jab in the process. Hochul was in Republican Rep. Mike Lawler’s district this morning to tout upgrades to a Metro-North train station that will be paid for by the controversial congestion pricing plan — something her likely 2026 opponent has sought to capitalize on as he eyes a run for her seat. “There are some people, elected officials, who do not believe in investing in public transit. Yes, sad but true,” Hochul said today. “Those who want to play political games with our transportation future, instead of ensuring we have reliable service, I have a simple message: Look at the facts, look at the investments, look at the results.” The disavowal of “political games” came five months after Hochul halted congestion pricing in part due to concerns it would hurt down-ballot New York Democrats as the party sought to regain its majority in the House. Less than 10 days after the election — when Democrats flipped three seats in New York — she announced the toll was coming back at $9, down $6 from the original plan. One day after she reversed her reversal, Lawler — who had just won a tough reelection — mobilized. He launched the website “congestionpricingsucks.com” and a sleek video of him driving into New York City and while blaming the governor for “charging folks a commuter tax on top of high tolls and gasoline prices” in a move he called “absolutely idiotic” and a “scam.” “Governor Hochul and John Lieber are on a propaganda tour to gin up support for their congestion pricing cash grab that hands the most corrupt and bloated public authority in the country, which has managed to accrue over $45 billion in debt, even more of New Yorkers’ hard-earned money,” Lawler said in a statement today, noting that Rockland County pays “tens of millions more in taxes to the MTA than it receives in services.” “This whole thing is a scam, and I will stop it,” he added. “The notion that New Yorkers take anything either of these failed incompetent bureaucrats say seriously is laughable. And judging by the Governor's abysmal polling numbers, it doesn’t look like they do.” As Lawler advances toward a run for governor, Hochul continues to remain vulnerable to challenges in both the primary and general elections. A Tuesday Siena poll showed 57 percent of New Yorkers want someone else as governor, with less than half of Democrats saying they would reelect her. The same pollsters found in April, July and early this month that a majority of New Yorkers oppose congestion pricing and Hochul’s reintroduction of the toll, something both Lawler and likely primary challenger Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres have attacked her on. Still, speaking from inside a Metro-North train car, the governor tried to illustrate her point: Suburbanites need a well-funded MTA just as much as city-dwellers, and Lawler’s Hudson Valley constituents will benefit from the resurrected toll plan. “People who are more interested in weaponizing issues and ignoring the needs of their constituents, they can deal with that with their own electorate,” Hochul said when asked if she had a message for Lawler. “I say this — these are critically important investments that are not for the entire state.” She noted that more than two-thirds of Putnam County residents that commute into the toll zone take the train. “I did ask Mike Lawler, when he came to threaten me about congestion pricing, 'Would you do something to help the MTA?'” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said. “I mean, we are 45 percent of the nation's mass transit riders, but we get 17 percent of federal money. ‘You're in the majority, sir, can you help us?’ Not a word, not a word in response.’” — Jason Beeferman
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