🛑 Congestion Cutoff, Turtle Smugglers & Tesla Meltdowns: Welcome to Edition #22 of the BOMA-NY Transportation Report 🗞️
March 2025 | BOMA-NY Codes & Regs Committee
Spring may be near, but the heat is on. In the span of just weeks, the federal government announced it was canceling NYC’s congestion pricing plan, the MTA sued to keep it alive, and Donald Trump celebrated the policy’s death with a meme crown. Meanwhile, subway crime is down, OMNY card drama is up, and Elon Musk staged a Tesla showroom on the White House lawn (yes, really).
This supersized edition dives into the biggest reversal in U.S. transportation policy since… last month. We’ve got the full story—from federal lawsuits and electric car chaos to turtle smugglers, subway saw jobs, and the war over iPhone juice.
In this issue:
🚫 USDOT annouced it will cancel congestion pricing—MTA files lawsuit, Hochul: “We’ll see you in court”
💸 $48.6M raised in first 27 days of tolling — now in jeopardy
🚌 Bus redesigns advance, OMNY fare abuse by students prompts crackdown
🚇 Open-gangway trains debut on the G Line
🧍 Double parking = automated tickets under new NYC pilot
✈️ Traveler found with turtle in his pants at Newark, scorpion sting in Boston
🔋 Tesla stock down 50%; Trump buys one to help Elon (and himself)
🛠️ New PATH station opens; Grand Central passageway complete
— Glenn Waldorf
Transportation Subcommittee Chair
Bell Environmental Services
📞 973-575-7800
✉️ info@bellenv.com
✅ March 2025 Transportation Report Summary Bullets
🚦 Congestion Pricing Canceled by Federal Government
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USDOT terminates tolling approval in early March; Trump declares it “DEAD” on social media with meme crown
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Federal letter ordered NYC to shut down cameras and customer billing by March 21
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MTA, Governor Hochul file lawsuit to keep program alive, calling it a “baseless effort to snatch away benefits from millions”
💸 Tolling Results Before Cancellation
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In just 27 days:
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$48.66M grossed, with $37.5M net surplus after expenses
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68% of revenue from passenger vehicles; 22% from taxis/for-hire vehicles
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$500M/year forecast would have supported $15B in transit bond funding
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🔥 Political Fallout
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MTA credit rating at risk per Moody’s if funding disappears
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Poll: NYC residents warming up to tolls (42% support vs 35% oppose), suburbs still cold
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NJ roads? Still rough—sinkholes, drone sightings, and Bruce Springsteen memes included
🚇 Subway & OMNY Updates
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Subway crime down 36% year-over-year
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Teens hijack R train; NYPD arrests and restores order
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Schools crack down on student OMNY card abuse, raising privacy concerns
🚌 Bus & Street News
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NYC pushes new automated double-parking ticket pilot
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42nd Street could become a busway, following 14th Street’s success
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Queens bus redesign formally approved
🚉 Transit Upgrades
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G Line debuts R211T open-gangway trains: wider doors, more security cameras, better signage
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Grand Central–7 train passageway completed, new PATH upgrades at Hoboken station
✈️ Airport News & Bizarre Incidents
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Newark: Traveler found smuggling live turtle in his pants
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Logan Airport: Woman stung by a scorpion retrieving her bag
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JFK: Terminal 1 refresh begins; flyers demand crackdown on “gate lice” crowding
🚘 Tesla, EVs & Climate Policy
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Trump buys a Tesla and turns the White House lawn into a pop-up showroom for Musk
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Tesla stock plummets 50% since December; Elon pledges $100M to Trump PAC
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EV charger funding frozen by feds; some states continue rollout, others back off
🏗️ Rail & Penn Station News
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Manhattan leaders pitch new Penn Station redevelopment + housing plan
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Metro-North to pilot battery-electric locomotives for Penn access
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NJ Transit CEO pledges transparency, fog-free windows, and customer advocates
🚢 Cruise News & Weird Headlines
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Third norovirus outbreak of the year hits Holland America ship
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Man steals $60K in electronics from Brooklyn subway using a power saw
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Cybertruck memes fly after it fails winter snow tests when compared to a Honda
