NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s much-debated plan to charge drivers to enter the center of Manhattan is set to take effect Sunday, following years of bureaucratic and legal roadblocks.
The goals of what is known as “congestion pricing” are to reduce gridlock and pollution and raise revenue for public transit. Gov. Kathy Hochul said this week that the state will push forward with the plan.
Here are some things to know if you plan to come into Manhattan by car after Jan. 5:
The toll applies to the most congested part of Manhattan, south of Central Park. It will vary depending on the time and whether a car has E-ZPass, which is an electronic toll collection system used in many states.
During peak traffic hours -- that’s 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends — most cars, SUVs, small vans and pickup trucks during with an E-ZPass will be charged $9, once per day.
During the overnight hours, the tolls will go down to $2.25.
Drivers without an E-ZPass will receive bills by mail and pay more: $13.50 for peak hours and $3.30 overnight.
Motorcyclists will pay half the amount that cars pay during peak. Drivers of buses and trucks, depending on their size, will pay more.
There are some exceptions. Certain emergency vehicles, school buses, people with disabilities who can’t take public transportation, and the people who transport them are all exempt. Low-income drivers who pay the toll 10 times in a month can apply for a 50% discount on trips they take the rest of the month.
There's also a little break for those who have already paid a toll to enter Manhattan at the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel or Hugh L. Carey Tunnel during peak hours. They should see a credit on their E-ZPass of up to $3 for passenger vehicles and more for trucks and buses.
Still, with tolls for bridges and tunnels from New Jersey set to go up in the new year, a driver coming via the Holland Tunnel during peak traffic could pay $22 even with the credit.
Passengers in taxis and for-hire vehicles will have a per-trip surcharge added to their fares for rides to, from, within or through what is known as the Congestion Relief Zone. That charge is 75 cents for people taking taxis, green cabs and black cars, and $1.50 for Uber or Lyft passengers.
Congestion pricing has long existed in other cities around the globe, including London, Stockholm, Milan and Singapore, but New York is the first U.S. city to adopt it.
It's been floated in New York for years. Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg suggested such a scheme in 2007, and state lawmakers approved the concept in 2019. But it has run into opposition and legal challenges from politicians, commuters and commercial drivers.
The idea has supporters in environmental and public transit advocates, who say encouraging people to forgo driving in favor of public transportation will reduce air pollution and help pay for the region’s subway, bus and commuter rail network. Millions of New Yorkers ride the subway system daily.
The plan stalled while awaiting a required federal environmental review during Donald Trump's first presidential administration.
It was finally set to go into effect earlier this year — with a heftier $15 toll — but Hochul, a Democrat, abruptly halted it weeks before the launch, arguing it was too expensive.
She put forward latest plan with a lower fee in November, shortly after Trump was elected to another term, with the Republican having vowed to stop it after he returns to office on Jan. 20.
FILE - Motorists travel in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel between midtown Manhattan in New York and New Jersey, in Weehawken, N.J., May 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of a small plane attempted to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff before crashing through the roof of a building in Southern California, according to air traffic control audio that includes panicked gasping and a female voice saying, “Oh my God,” moments before the crash.
The crash Thursday left two people dead and 19 injured. The plane was owned by Pascal Reid of Huntington Beach, California, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. The Huntington Beach High School girls soccer team posted Friday on Instagram that Reid and his daughter Kelly, a student at the school, died in a plane crash.
“Yesterday our soccer family suffered an unimaginable loss,” the post read. “Kelly was a natural caregiver and always put others first. She will be deeply missed. Her father was at every single game, always so proud of his daughter.”
The coroner's office hasn't yet identified the dead or confirmed they were on the plane.
The plane had just taken off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport when the pilot told the air traffic control tower, “Immediate landing required.”
The pilot initially told the air traffic controller that he planned to land on Runway 6. The air traffic controller then told another aircraft to turn away from that area and told the pilot he could land on either Runway 6 or 24. The pilot responded that he was going to land on Runway 24 instead. Moments later, panicked gasping and an “Oh my God” could be heard just before the audio went quiet.
Federal investigators said the aircraft asked for a return to the airport at about 900 feet (274 meters). It crashed about 1,000 feet (305 meters) short of Runway 24, through a sprawling furniture manufacturing building owned by Michael Nicholas Designs.
According to a preliminary Federal Aviation Administration report, the aircraft crashed under “unknown circumstances.”
Eleven people were taken to hospitals, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said. The injuries ranged from minor to very serious, said Michael Meacham, Fullerton deputy chief of fire operations.
Security camera footage from Rucci Forged, a wheel manufacturer across the street, shows the plane was tilted on its side as it dove into the building, causing a fiery explosion and a black plume of smoke.
Chris Villalobos, an airport operations worker, said the airplane’s owner was a regular at the airport with his own hangar and had frequently taken off from there.
The FAA identified the plane as a single-engine, four-seat Van’s RV-10, a popular home-built airplane sold in kit form. Investigators said the aircraft was built in 2011.
Tim Olson, an aviation enthusiast and an early purchaser of the RV-10 plane kit, said he had exchanged emails with Reid over the years and knew him as a “diligent, responsible” pilot and aircraft builder. Olson said the RV-10 had become popular as an “easy-to-build” plane from a reputable kit manufacturer. He said he has flown more than 1,500 hours on his own plane, even taking it to the Cayman Islands.
“It’s real sad to hear that it ended this way for him,” Olson said. “I know from talking back and forth that he did travel, camped out with his plane around the country a bunch.”
Reid's daughter Kelly is listed on school sports websites as a junior at Huntington Beach High School who played flag football, soccer and lacrosse.
The airport in Fullerton has one runway and a heliport. Metrolink, a regional train line, is nearby and flanks a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse buildings.
The Fullerton City Council posted a statement on social media calling the crash a “solemn tragedy.”
“The City of Fullerton is committed to providing support for all those affected and working with the agencies involved to uncover the details of this incident,” Mayor Fred Jung said in the statement. “We are grateful for the strength of our community and the compassion we show one another in times of crisis.”
Another four-seat plane crashed into a tree a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the airport in November while making an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, The Orange County Register reported. Both people on board suffered moderate injuries.
Fullerton is a city of about 140,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.
A mourner weeps as they are embraces before a memorial service at First Christian Church in Huntington Beach, Calif., Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, for those killed in a small plane crash the day before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mourners arrive for a memorial service at First Christian Church in Huntington Beach, Calif., Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, for those killed in a small plane crash the day before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Daniel Villalbazo, left and Efrain Romero show photos on their mobile phones, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif., after witnessing a plane crash the day before at the warehouse of a commercial building where the accident happened. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Workers line up to enter a warehouse of a commercial furniture factory to collect their belongings Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif., where a small plane crashed the day before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People attend a vigil at First Christian Church in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, for those killed in a small plane crash taking off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport the day before. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
Mourners embrace before a memorial service at First Christian Church in Huntington Beach, Calif., Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, for those killed in a small plane crash the day before. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People stand outside of a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Workers stand near police lines at the scene of a small plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
A firefighter enters a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighter stage outside a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighter walk down a ladder outside a building where a plane crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighters load a person onto an ambulance after a small plane crashed into a commercial building on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Firefighters stage outside a building where a plane crash occurred, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
Firefighters respond to a commercial building where a small plane crashed on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A woman is carried on a stretcher near the site of a plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Fullerton, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)
