Op-Ed by Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano
Gov. Hochul and the Albany Democrats have officially lost touch with reality. Long Islanders are staring down a crippling LIRR strike, families are scrambling to figure out how they’ll get to work, and what’s Hochul’s response? “Stay home.”
That’s not leadership. That’s surrender.
Bruce Blakeman and Assemblyman Ed Ra are absolutely right to demand that congestion pricing be suspended during any LIRR strike. If commuters are FORCED off the trains and into their cars because the MTA can’t keep the rails running, then slapping them with another $9 tax to enter Manhattan is outrageous.
Long Islanders already pay some of the highest taxes in America. We fund the MTA. We fund Albany. We fund New York City. And now Hochul wants working people punished because her transit system failed them?
The Governor claims there’s “no legal mechanism” to suspend the toll. Funny how there’s always a legal mechanism when Albany wants to take more money out of taxpayers’ pockets, but suddenly their hands are tied when residents need relief.
This entire congestion pricing scheme has been a cash grab from day one. It punishes suburban commuters, hurts small businesses, drives up costs, and treats Long Island like an ATM machine for New York City’s financial disasters.
The message from Albany Democrats is clear: pay more, expect less, and be quiet about it.
I stand with Bruce Blakeman, Ed Ra, and every hardworking commuter being squeezed by Hochul’s failed policies. If the trains aren’t running, the tolls shouldn’t be either. And frankly, congestion pricing should be repealed altogether.
Long Islanders are tired of being treated like second-class citizens by downstate political elites who couldn’t care less about the people footing the bill.