Kathy Hochul: Congestion Pricing ‘Is Working,’ ‘Broadway Is Up,’ ‘Retail Sales Are up $900 Million’

EXCERPT:

HOCHUL: "You know, I don’t want to get into private conversations, but I spent an enormous amount of my time in there talking about how congestion pricing is working. It really is working. I think a lot of people who are naysayers, who say that this is going to crush the city, nobody’s going to come in, they were wrong. And I wanted him to see the data, that I had more recent numbers. Broadway is up, retail sales are up $900 million. We have more people on the streets walking around, going into stores, and 10% increase on riders on the subway. So all the fears that were out there are absolutely unfounded and people are getting to the city so much faster. So I needed to help walk him through what I thought were the real reasons why we need to keep this and not have it shut down, which is what he said the administration would do beginning this Friday. But we — as I’ve said, and I was very aggressive in this, we are not turning off the cameras. This is our program. We put this in place, we have the proper approvals and we feel, if necessary, we’ll be successful in court. But I was hoping it wouldn’t have to get that far, but time will tell."