Dante
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By The NYT Editorial Board - March 27, 2026
I lived in NYC and remember how out of touch Donald Trump and people like him were with the average Newyorker. Even know, think about it: The man could not carry his hometown in an election. In politics, that is a sure sign of a Loser
[ Early last year, New York flipped a switch on an audacious system to charge drivers entering Midtown or Lower Manhattan, the first of its kind in the United States. Passenger cars with an E-ZPass had to pay $9 to enter Manhattan below 61st Street from morning until 9 p.m., with lower prices overnight and higher prices for larger vehicles.
To hear the furious objections and lawsuits at the time, it was as if the city and state wanted to return the island’s streets to horses and buggies. “It’s nothing more than a scam — a cash grab,” said Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican congressman from New York City’s northern suburbs. “A disaster,” said New Jersey’s governor at the time, Philip Murphy, a Democrat. “Businesses will flee,” warned Donald Trump, who was then president-elect and vowed to kill the plan when he took office. He predicted that it would be “virtually impossible for New York City to come back as long as the congestion tax is in effect.”
The scaremongers were wrong. Over its first 14 months, the congestion pricing system has exceeded even the high hopes of many supporters. It has reduced traffic, improved the quality of life and even provided a boost for businesses. Talk of killing it has faded. This month, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program was illegal.
While the program could still use some tweaks, its success should encourage some other large cities to consider their own congestion pricing plans as part of broader efforts to improve public transit... ]
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Trump Said This Policy Would Make Manhattan a ‘Ghost Town.’ He Was Wrong.
It's incredible. A man who hasn't driven his own automobile in Manhattan in maybe his whole life time, is somehow a Stable Genius who knows what will and will not work with the average citizen.I lived in NYC and remember how out of touch Donald Trump and people like him were with the average Newyorker. Even know, think about it: The man could not carry his hometown in an election. In politics, that is a sure sign of a Loser
[ Early last year, New York flipped a switch on an audacious system to charge drivers entering Midtown or Lower Manhattan, the first of its kind in the United States. Passenger cars with an E-ZPass had to pay $9 to enter Manhattan below 61st Street from morning until 9 p.m., with lower prices overnight and higher prices for larger vehicles.
To hear the furious objections and lawsuits at the time, it was as if the city and state wanted to return the island’s streets to horses and buggies. “It’s nothing more than a scam — a cash grab,” said Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican congressman from New York City’s northern suburbs. “A disaster,” said New Jersey’s governor at the time, Philip Murphy, a Democrat. “Businesses will flee,” warned Donald Trump, who was then president-elect and vowed to kill the plan when he took office. He predicted that it would be “virtually impossible for New York City to come back as long as the congestion tax is in effect.”
The scaremongers were wrong. Over its first 14 months, the congestion pricing system has exceeded even the high hopes of many supporters. It has reduced traffic, improved the quality of life and even provided a boost for businesses. Talk of killing it has faded. This month, a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s attempt to end the program was illegal.
While the program could still use some tweaks, its success should encourage some other large cities to consider their own congestion pricing plans as part of broader efforts to improve public transit... ]
...
