NY Lawmakers Proposing Drivers Pay $50 Fee To Enter Manhattan

Two New York lawmakers are proposing drivers pay a $50 fee to enter Manhattan. 

It’s not all drivers entering The Big Apple.   The lawmakers are targeting drivers from New Jersey. So, if you plan to visit NYC but aim for cheaper accommodation by staying in the Garden State, know it could cost you. 

The New York lawmakers are calling it a “non-cooperation fee” in response to a bill proposed by New Jersey lawmakers that prevent the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission from helping New York enforce red light and speed camera tickets against New Jersey drivers. 

If New York State lawmakers approve the proposal, the $50 non-cooperation fee would be on top of the $16 toll to cross the Hudson into Manhattan, NJ.com reports. NY lawmakers also propose a congestion fee ranging from $9 to $23 for driving south of 60^th Street.  

“In an ideal world, I think New Jersey lawmakers would shelve their dangerous bill, and this whole issue would be moot,” New York Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, D-Bronx, tells NJ.Com. He is also sponsoring the assembly bill. 

He adds, “Without my legislation, New York City will be less safe as scofflaw drivers from out of state avoid culpability for speeding and running red lights.”

But on the flip side, New Jersey state senator Declan O’Scanlon, R-13, is not buying Dinowitz’s reasoning. 

“It’s one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. It will drive more people away from a city desperately trying to recover from COVID,” O’Scanlon tells NJ Advance Media. “New Jersey bans automated enforcement because we know it doesn’t improve safety and is theft.”

He also warns that he can propose a bill that would make it costly for New Yorkers entering New Jersey.

“It’s [a] toll to enter NYC. If they want to go down this path … we’ll propose our own fee,” he adds. “Let’s hold hands and demonstrate how stupid we are.”