GOP Rep. Malliotakis: If Gov. Hochul Wants Us to Ride a Subway, then She Needs to Make It Safe

Friday on FBN’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) reacted to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D-NY) proposal to charge so-called surge pricing for those driving into Manhattan.

Hochul argues that such a move encourages New Yorkers to use the subway when traveling to and from Manhattan.

However, Malliotakis said if Hochul were serious about encouraging mass transit ridership, she would do more to make it a safer passenger experience.

“Governor Hochul backtracking on that surge pricing idea for the congestion, pricing the tax on New York City,” fill-in host Cheryl Casone said. “You’ve been pursuing legal remedies here. Where are we?”

“Well, we’re still in court,” Malliotakis replied. “We are fighting this thing, and we will not let up. We’ve also have, obviously, President Trump coming in, and we’re exploring the opportunities for him to intervene here. I’ve spoken about this issue with President Trump. He understands and knows how disastrous this will be for New York City’s economy, not to mention that it will cost average working New Yorkers thousands of dollars a year.”

“The governor wants us to ride a subway, then she needs to make it safe,” she continued. “So, you can’t just tax us to death and then try to push people onto the subway. It’s not going to happen. People will just not come into Manhattan. Make the subways safe. You’ll see more people utilizing the system and less relying on cars. But, we’re hopeful that a Trump administration can intervene here and demands that an environmental impact study is done under [National Environmental Policy Act] law requirements. That is why we’re suing, because the Biden administration can rubber stamp the Hochul plan without that study. And so, we’re exploring those options now.”

“And Trump says he is going to help,” Casone said. “Trump says he is going to get involved.”

“Well, President Trump has said that he has opposed to the congestion tax, and he wants to help us,” Malliotakis added. “We just have to find the proper legal avenue.”

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