Heres how Trump can kill Midtown tolls AND plug the MTAs cash hole

Let’s be blunt: New York’s Southern Tier has been left for dead by New York’s liberal elites.This once-proud region of blue-collar workers now faces poverty, rising Medicaid dependency and drug addiction, all while the same elite sit comfortably in their Manhattan high-rises fretting over how to speed up their crosstown commutes and squeeze peons for more cash.And still, New York City is crumbling from within.The Metropolitan Transportation Authority — the lifeblood of the entire metropolitan region — is falling apart, begging for a bailout.It’s outdated, underfunded, dangerous and in desperate need of massive funds.With President Donald Trump’s decision to terminate congestion pricing, the MTA now faces a staggering $15 billion funding gap for critical infrastructure repairs.The president was right to reject this Midtown toll as an unfair burden on working-class motorists, but the need to stabilize the MTA’s finances remains.Gov.

Kathy Hochul wants a federal bailout, but she’s dismissing a solution right beneath her feet.Instead of grabbing more case from taxpayers, New York can create a revenue stream that would permanently boost the MTA’s finances, while also revitalizing communities upstate — by unlocking New York’s vast natural-gas reserves through hydrofracking.Unlike congestion pricing, natural-gas development would generate new revenue without imposing added costs on commuters.And Trump holds the power to make it happen.For years, state leaders have blocked fracking on the basis of a bogus health study, depriving the Southern Tier of an economic lifeline.But Trump’s Jan.20 Energy Emergency Executive Order has changed the game: By declaring the Northeast a region where “dangerous state and local policies jeopardize our nation’s core defense and security needs,” the administration has established the legal authority to override New York’s fracking ban in the name of national security.The order lays out a comprehensive strate...