Hochul takes victory lap on congestion pricing as she eyes hitting New Yorkers with more taxes for MTA

Gov.Kathy Hochul took a victory lap over congestion pricing Friday, claiming New Yorkers are better off for it — even as she considers hitting the city with more taxes to prop up the embattled MTA.Dozens of congestion pricing supporters, including Hochul, defiantly gathered near Union Square on the day President Trump’s administration had set — before pushing it off — as a deadline to kill the lower Manhattan toll program.Hochul awkwardly joined in the crowd’s chant of “traffic is down, business is up” before singing the praises of $9 tolls for not only reducing gridlock and cleaning up the air, but also ultimately raising $15 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s massive capital plan to revamp the city’s transit system.“We’re still on that journey, and the more people who get a chance to see the benefits — just walk around and talk to people ask if their lives are more enriched, whether they have more time with their families, if they’re a commuter,” she said.

“Whether or not they’re finally realizing that we have the world-class public transit system, but we need to keep it world-class by raising the revenues to invest in it as well.“So, today’s an important day, the cameras are staying on.” Left unsaid during Hochul’s rally — which ended with her taking a non-rush hour bus ride across town to Chelsea — was the fact that congestion pricing won’t be the last hit on New York City taxpayers, if the governor has her way.The governor has long been considering hiking the payroll mobility tax to help pay for the MTA’s record $68.4 billion, five-year capital plan.A source familiar with ongoing state budget negotiations told The Post that the payroll tax has come up in the talks.It is part of a range of options lawmakers are considering to ding city businesses to help pay for the MTA’s 2025-29 capital plan, the source said.Big Apple businesses with payrolls larger than $437,500 currently must pay 0.6% of...