How subway service could suffer from congestion pricing 'pause'

Plus: That 'man in finance' is absurdly hard to find [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Here's how NYC subway service could suffer now that congestion pricing is effectively dead]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☔ Muggy and rainy, with possible afternoon thunderstorms and highs in the mid 80s. It's Thursday in New York City, where Gov. Kathy Hochul’s order to indefinitely put congestion pricing on ice could torpedo subway service and send trains into a state of disrepair. [Here's what transit riders stand to lose]( if the MTA can't find an alternative source for the annual $1 billion — plus the $15 billion loan — that congestion pricing tolls were expected to bring in. And here's what else is happening: - Gov. Hochul said she was motivated by economics — not politics — when she abruptly pulled the plug on congestion pricing. [Hardly anybody in Albany seems to believe that](. - The City Council is expected to approve a measure Thursday that would [expand its power over the mayoralty]( by requiring the Council’s approval for 21 key city agency commissioner appointments. - Police yesterday apprehended a 5-foot-long snake that was [slithering up a gate]( outside an Upper West Side apartment building. - New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed a bipartisan bill that'll [make it more difficult for the press and general public]( to access government records. - Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that YouTube, at his urging, is [cracking down on videos]( that show how to manufacture and modify guns. - A court-appointed official said affluent Millburn, New Jersey should move forward with building [an affordable housing development in its ritzy downtown](. - City Councilmember Lincoln Restler is floating a plan to give more power to the watchdog agency running the city’s campaign matching funds program [amid deepening investigations into Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign fundraising](. - Now that Donald Trump is a convicted felon, the NYPD is seeking to [revoke his permit to carry a concealed firearm](. - A source told Page Six that [Trump's conviction has brought his family closer together]( — and even helped "thaw" the tension between Ivanka and Melania. - An analysis of immigration data found that even before migrants started getting bused to New York, the state's federal asylum office was [granting asylum at a rate far lower than the national average](. - Former employees of Ed's Lobster Bar in SoHo are accusing owner Ed McFarland of abruptly shutting down the restaurant and [robbing them of tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages as he pursues his DJ career](. - 50 Cent was on Capitol Hill yesterday meeting with federal lawmakers to advocate for [more Black representation in the luxury liquor industry](. - [These celebrities holding "stoop sales"]( are appropriating the term, it's not a real stoop sale unless it's on a stoop and everything's dirt cheap. - Costco is going to [stop selling books]( (except at Christmas). - Meet Mexico's "weed nuns," a group of women who dress up like nuns and [grow and sell legal weed](. [“I get politics, I get elections. But leaders stand by policies that work. Leaders take the brunt of the hits when things don't become popular.”]( - Manhattan Assemblymember Tony Simone on [HIS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH GOV. HOCHUL'S DECISION TO HALT CONGESTION PRICING]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Looking for a ‘Man in Finance’? The stats might be against you.]( The meme calls for a man who works in finance, has a trust fund, and is 6'5" with blue eyes. According to a TikTokker who crunched the numbers, exactly two individuals out of the roughly 101 million men in the U.S. fit that description. [How to start running in NYC: Fun routes, safety tips and where to get proper shoes]( Go extremely slow, try to find a car-free area — even if it’s just a little park to run laps around — and don’t be afraid to dress like a highlighter. [We Rely On Your Support]( [Environmental center is a respite for NJ’s city kids. Gov. Murphy eyes cuts to its funding.]( Since 1949, the School of Conservation, tucked inside Sussex County’s Stokes Forest, has provided environmental education to visiting students from across the Garden State. But the center’s leaders say Murphy’s plan to cut 60% of their funding in the coming fiscal year would compromise that mission. [Smartphones could soon be banned in NY schools. Students say they'll find loopholes.]( Momentum is building toward banning smartphones in New York schools amid mounting alarm about social media's toxic effects on children, but some students are skeptical about whether the move would actually work. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.