Upstate drivers could face a new $25 vehicle registration fee under a proposal from two state lawmakers.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Sheriff Todd Hood, both Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, criticized the plan Wednesday and warned it expands congestion-style pricing beyond New York City.
Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Magnarelli of Syracuse and Sen. Jeremy Cooney of Rochester introduced the proposal. The measure would add a $25 fee on vehicle registrations for upstate drivers to support public transit.
Blakeman tied the proposal to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing program in New York City, which charges drivers up to $27 to enter Manhattan.
“Kathy Hochul has already made New York one of the highest taxed states in the nation, and now upstate drivers are about to feel the squeeze,” Blakeman said. “Families struggling to pay for groceries, housing, and utilities could be hit with an extra $25 tax just to register their car. This is congestion pricing coming to a state near you — and it’s only the beginning.”
Hood said the proposal shifts more costs onto residents.
“Kathy Hochul calls this ‘public transit funding.’ I call it another tax on hardworking New Yorkers,” Hood said. “Hochul keeps inventing new taxes and fees while refusing to cut waste. If we don’t stop it now, where does it end? Bruce Blakeman and I will end congestion pricing, reject new taxes, and bring affordability back to New York on Day One.”
Hood also said, “They start with one region, call it temporary or targeted, and then expand it statewide. Upstate drivers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize policies that make life more expensive.”
Blakeman said he would end congestion pricing on his first day in office if elected governor.
“Make no mistake, congestion pricing will end on Day 1 of the Blakeman-Hood Administration,” he said.
The proposal targets upstate vehicle owners and directs the added revenue toward public transit funding. Lawmakers have not announced a vote date.
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