Less Traffic, Safer Streets: As Summer Comes to an End, Governor Hochul Highlights Continued Success of Congestion Pricing

Program Will Fund $15 Billion in Transit Improvements from Poughkeepsie to Montauk

Traffic is Down Throughout the Region

Transit Ridership Surged to Post-Pandemic Highs

Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that as summer draws to a close, New York City’s congestion relief program has continued to successfully reduce traffic and improve travel times throughout the region. August saw nearly 2.7 million fewer vehicles than baseline enter the congestion relief zone, a 14 percent reduction. August was level with June for the largest vehicle reduction seen so far in 2025. Congestion pricing continues to generate revenue to fund transit improvements across the region, including new rail cars, accessibility improvements, and enabling the advancement of the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2.

“With summer coming to an end, the benefits of congestion pricing are clearer than ever,” Governor Hochul said. “This program has been nothing short of transformational, making streets safer, reducing gridlock across the region, and unlocking generational upgrades to mass transit, benefitting millions. Congestion pricing is working, it is legal, and the cameras are staying on.”

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “In less than a year, New Yorkers are seeing massive benefits from congestion relief, including new rail cars, dozens of ADA elevators and signal modernization. This initiative has demonstrated that government can do big things that deliver results — less traffic, safer streets, and improved quality of life for transit users, drivers and pedestrians alike.”

Less Traffic, Safer Streets:

Congestion pricing has shown continued success in reducing traffic, speeding up the flow of traffic, and cutting down delays, not just in the congestion relief zone but throughout the New York metropolitan region. The number of vehicles entering the zone is down by 12 percent since congestion pricing started. Every day, 87,000 fewer vehicles enter the zone, and since the program started, 17.6 million fewer vehicles have entered the zone compared to last year.

Congestion pricing has had notable benefits reducing gridlock on bridges and tunnels crossing the East River and Hudson River, making commutes faster. Every crossing entering the congestion relief zone has seen morning peak travel times reduced in 2025 when compared to 2024.

• Brooklyn Bridge: 13 percent faster
• Holland Tunnel: 36 percent faster
• Hugh L. Carey Tunnel: 16 percent faster
• Lincoln Tunnel: 10 percent faster
• Manhattan Bridge: 5% faster
• Queens-Midtown Tunnel: 4 percent faster
• Queensboro Bridge: 21 percent faster
• Williamsburg Bridge: 23 percent faster

Reduced gridlock has improved quality of life in New York City. Crashes in the congestion relief zone are down 14 percent. Traffic injuries are down by 15 percent in the zone, and the safety benefits are being felt citywide. Earlier this summer, the New York City Department of Transportation released data showing that pedestrian fatalities on New York City streets are at historic lows, matching levels last seen in 2018.

Rising Transit Ridership:

Transit ridership across all modes has increased from January to August 2025 when compared to the same period last year.

• Subway: 9 percent
• Bus: 13 percent
• LIRR: 10 percent
• Metro-North: 7 percent
• Access-A-Ride: 22 percent

In July, the MTA achieved its best summer subway ridership week since 2019, hitting four million subway riders three days in a row in a summer season — a first since the start of the pandemic. The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) shattered its post-pandemic daily ridership record twice in July, carrying 298,419 passengers on Wednesday, July 23, and 295,419 passengers on Tuesday, July 22.

Improving Transit Performance:

Transit service has improved across-the-board in 2025 to near-record heights. In August, subway weekday On-Time Performance was 85.2 percent, the best for that month in 10 years. Overall summer On-Time Performance on the subway was 84.3 percent, up from both 2024 and 2023.

Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North On-Time Performance have consistently been at or near 97 percent in 2025.

Buses are moving faster thanks to congestion pricing. According to a new report from the New York City Comptroller, buses operating entirely or partially in the congestion relief zone have seen improvements to speed and overall performance in excess of citywide baselines. August also saw the final implementation of the MTA’s Queens bus Network Redesign.

At the same time, economic indicators demonstrate that congestion pricing has coincided with an increase in business activity in Manhattan’s central business district. A new report from Placer AI found that New York City office visits in July exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time, the first city in the nation to achieve that benchmark in their analysis.

Earlier this week, the congestion relief program was recognized by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) with its Social Responsibility award, calling it an “historic first by reducing gridlock and advancing access — cutting congestion, improving travel times, generating critic no al transit funding, and creating new discount and exemption plans for drivers.” On June 11, the Intelligent Transportation Society of New York awarded the Central Business District Tolling Program with its Intelligent Transport Systems Project of the Year.

 

MAYOR ADAMS, NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS CEO DR. KATZ CELEBRATE OPENING OF ‘BRIDGE TO HOME FACILITY,’ PROVIDING TRANSITIONAL HOUSING WITH ONSITE CLINICAL SERVICES FOR PATIENTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS

 

New Innovative Model Will Provide Treatment and Temporary Housing to Patients with Severe Mental Illness, Deliver Comprehensive Behavioral Health Care to Keep People Off Streets

 

Program Offers Patients Stable Housing with Onsite Clinical Services and  Behavioral Health Care to Support Recovery, Filling Critical Gap  Between Inpatient Treatment and Permanent Housing Placement

 

Facility Will Welcome First Guests This Week,  Provide Single Rooms to 46 Guests at Full Capacity 

 

Announced in Mayor Adams' State of the City Earlier This Year, $650-Million Plan Builds on Adams Administration's Record of Largest Investment in Street Beds, Over 3,500 Formerly Unsheltered Homeless Individuals Placed in Permanent Housing  

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz today announced the opening of NYC Health + Hospitals’ “Bridge to Home” facility, a new, innovative support model designed to help patients living with severe mental illness who are ready to be discharged from the hospital but do not have a place to go. Bridge to Home is funded as part of the Adams administration’s $650 million plan to address homelessness and support New Yorkers experiencing serious mental illness. The Bridge to Home program aims to fill this critical gap between inpatient treatment and permanent housing placement, offering patients a stable, home-like environment with onsite clinical services and behavioral health care to ensure they can continue their recovery while transitioning to permanent housing. The Midtown West facility will welcome its first guests this week, and provide single rooms to 46 guests, when at full capacity, with dedicated on-site clinical, behavioral health, and administrative support. The first-of-its-kind model was first unveiled as part of Mayor Adams’ 2025 State of the City address. 

 

  “For decades, New Yorkers struggling with serious mental illness have been caught in a cycle between hospitals and streets. But now, with ‘Bridge to Home,’ we are finally breaking that cycle and creating an off-ramp to ensure New Yorkers leaving the hospital have a nurturing and safe environment to maintain their progress,” said Mayor Adams. “Since the start, our administration has been laser focused on supporting our most vulnerable New Yorkers, especially those struggling with serious mental illness. From launching innovative co-response programs that engage New Yorkers on the streets to investing over $650 million in a comprehensive plan to address homelessness, and even helping pass legislation in Albany that allows us to finally ensure people get help even when they don’t even recognize their own need for it, our administration has been committed to bringing real change, and this is yet another example of the transformation we are making across our city. I thank Dr. Katz and the entire team at NYC Health + Hospitals for their vision and their dedication to realizing this innovative model, which will impact countless lives.”

 

“The launch of ‘Bridge to Home’ marks a significant step forward in our ability to improve the lives of our most vulnerable New Yorkers living with serious mental illness,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals. “Too often, without the stability they need to heal, patients leave the hospital only to return to shelters or the street. ‘Bridge to Home’ offers a safe place to land — with on-site support, clinical care, and a path forward. By combining transitional housing with coordinated, compassionate services, we’re helping people rebuild their lives and find a more permanent home.” 

 

By offering patients intensive treatment and comprehensive support, Bridge to Home aims to keep patients on a path toward sustained success, reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations, decreasing homelessness and reliance on shelters, and lowering interactions with the criminal justice system.   

 

Today’s announcement also builds on Mayor Adams’ “End the Culture of Anything Goes” campaign, which highlights the work the administration has done, to date, to change the culture and laws that prevented people with severe mental illness from getting the help they needed, while simultaneously making the investments necessary to support outreach, harm reduction, wraparound services, and housing — all in an effort to make lasting impacts in lives and communities. Mayor Adams is bringing the same energy and approach that proved to be successful in carving a new path to help people with severe mental illness to address other health crises, like drug addiction, playing out on city streets, and recently laid out plans to realize that vision by connecting those suffering with treatment. 

 

Approximately 78,000 behavioral health patients receive services annually at NYC Health + Hospitals and nearly half of them experience homelessness. For these patients, however, recovery is often delayed due to the instability of housing. The Bridge to Home program provides a key solution by offering a place to stay with comprehensive on-site support while patients transition to permanent housing, reducing reliance on emergency care and improving long-term stability for patients as they prepare for permanent housing. 

 

The Bridge to Home facility on West 36th Street ensures patients are in close proximity to Bellevue Hospital and the full spectrum of services offered within the NYC Health + Hospitals system, including behavioral health care, medical treatment, and housing navigation. The building will be staffed 24/7 by NYC Health + Hospitals professionals and feature a comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment team consisting of psychiatric providers, social workers, nurses, and peer specialists. Behavioral health services will include medication management, individual and group therapy, substance use disorder treatment, and around-the-clock support.  

During their stay, Bridge to Home guests will also receive access to crucial wraparound services such as case management and housing navigation to assist in securing permanent, supportive housing. The facility will offer three meals a day, daily group activities, and a range of therapeutic and recreational opportunities designed to support both privacy and socialization. 

 

Bridge to Home creates a new link in the behavioral health continuum of care, providing the city's public hospital system a discharge option for individuals who no longer meet inpatient criteria but need additional supports in the community. The program expands the public hospital system’s care options, which include three Extended Care Units. Extended Care Units offer inpatient care for patients with serious mental illness who have been historically disconnected from health and social services for up to 120 days, compared to an average of 21-day stay for patients in acute psychiatric inpatient care.  

 

Bridge to Home will work in concert with NYC Health + Hospitals’ “Housing for Health” program, which has housed nearly 1,500 patients, and is expected to improve engagement in outpatient care, reduce emergency room visits, and support successful transitions from homelessness to permanent housing. Housing for Health community partners will work with guests at the Bridge to Home facility to help secure permanent housing placements.   NYC Health + Hospitals’ lease of the entire Hudson River Hotel on West 36th Street will provide single rooms to 46 guests at full capacity with dedicated on-site clinical, behavioral health, as well as administrative support. The three-year lease of the facility — approved by the NYC Health + Hospitals Board of Directors in late July — marks an important milestone in the city's effort to support patients transitioning from hospital care to long-term stability. The program aims to reduce reliance on emergency care, prevent hospital readmissions, and improve overall outcomes for vulnerable New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. 

 

“Patients with serious mental illness who are ready for discharge need ongoing clinical and housing support — without it, their recovery may be disrupted, leading them back to the hospital or the street,” said Dr. Ted Long, senior vice president for ambulatory care and population health, NYC Health + Hospitals. “With ‘Bridge to Home’ we are ready to address that unmet need with compassion and precision. It’s not just a roof over someone’s head, it’s a clinical and community-based lifeline. With this model, we are building a seamless bridge between hospital care and long-term stability, ensuring patients stay connected to the care they need while gaining the housing security to heal and get back on their feet.” 

 

“As the largest provider of behavioral health services in the city, we feel a deep responsibility to continue to develop clinical models of care that support our most complex patients,” said Omar Fattal, MD, MPH, chief of behavioral health services, NYC Health + Hospitals. “This week, we are proud to launch a new initiative — one that will provide clinical services to homeless individuals with serious mental illness in a home-like environment, while comprehensively addressing their needs in a patient-centered way to help them attain stability and permanent housing.” 

 

“‘Bridge to Home’ is an innovative transitional housing model that bolsters the city’s continuum of care and adds to a robust safety net of specialized resources for New Yorkers who may be in danger of falling into unsheltered homelessness,” said New York City Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “Congratulations to the clients who will soon benefit from this supportive and nurturing facility as they take the next steps toward achieving self-sufficiency.” 

 

“The challenges of helping patients with severe mental illness maintain stability in the community after inpatient care are well known,” said Dr. Eric Wei, chief executive officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “‘Bridge to Home’ will be an essential part of Bellevue’s continuum of care, improving patient outcomes by providing a holistic approach that includes housing, access to onsite clinical staff, and interventions designed to enhance functioning as patients transition into permanent housing. This transformative program will fill a critical gap in community treatment for individuals living with serious mental illness." 

 

“Psychiatrists working in public settings have long hoped for a program like ‘Bridge to Home,’” said Dr. Bipin Subedi, chief of psychiatry NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. “Discharging patients with serious mental illness has often meant sending them into uncertain housing situations, despite the significant progress made during hospitalization. Access to a facility that meets both housing and clinical needs — while fostering a sense of community and improving day-to-day functioning — will be a powerful asset in supporting both short- and long-term recovery. ‘Bridge to Home’ will extend the high-quality care we provide at Bellevue into the community, offering vital continuity for our patients. It will truly transform how we support individuals with serious mental illness who are also struggling with unstable housing.” 

NYS Office of the Comptroller NYS Office of the Comptroller

 

Better Federal Coordination Needed to Stop Duplicate Premium Payments and Ensure State Can Recoup Funds

An audit released today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found multiple issues with how the state identified out-of-state Medicaid members, and found close to $1.2 billion in managed care premiums that were paid for members who may have resided outside of New York. Auditors found that the state Department of Health (DOH) did not properly check to confirm that Medicaid members were New York residents and waited too long to recoup improper payments.

“Medicaid is a vital program and the single biggest expense in the state budget. We cannot afford any wasteful spending,” DiNapoli said. “If a person is enrolled in more than one state at the same time, both states may end up paying premiums to his or her managed care plans. Responsibility for preventing enrollment in more than one state lies at both the federal and state levels, and stronger coordination is needed to reduce improper payments, protect the program’s integrity, and ensure New York is only paying Medicaid costs for its residents.”

Medicaid members are enrolled through the New York State of Health (NYSOH) or through local departments of social services (Local Districts). Most of the state’s Medicaid members are enrolled in managed care plans, which are responsible for ensuring members have access to a range of health care services and reimbursing providers for those services. In exchange, DOH pays the plans a monthly premium for each enrolled member. Generally speaking, if a member who is enrolled in a managed care plan no longer resides in New York, they should be disenrolled from their plan and the plan must return premiums paid for periods when the member was not a resident. The audit examined the period from July 2017 through October 2024.

The audit found that DOH did not start submitting NYSOH’s member data for matching in the federal Public Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS), which matches enrollment data of public assistance programs like Medicaid across all 50 states, until May 2017, nearly three years after NYSOH started. DOH did not start reviews of the NYSOH PARIS match results until two years later, in October 2019. The audit identified $1.5 billion in premium payments that were made from 2017 to 2019 for unreviewed NYSOH members.

Auditors identified an additional $1.2 billion in managed care premiums paid for members that potentially resided outside New York as follows:

• $509 million in premiums paid for 155,181 members who may have resided outside of New York according to data sources other than PARIS, such as the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address (NCOA) information. For example, a member appeared on a May 2020 NCOA report with a forwarding address in Florida. The individual had no Medicaid services in NY since February 2020, but Medicaid made 45 monthly premium payments totaling $100,859 from June 2020 through February 2024. The member was still active and enrolled in managed care as of the end of the audit.
• $375 million in premiums paid for NYSOH-enrolled members who were identified on a PARIS match but were not reviewed by DOH to confirm residency because of flaws in NYSOH’s processing that caused the omissions.
• $299 million in premiums paid for members whose eligibility was ended due to PARIS matches but the improper premiums were not recovered ($234 million), or the member’s eligibility was flagged to be closed but was not officially ended and premiums continued to be paid ($65 million).

Even when DOH and Local Districts closed the eligibility of members identified by the PARIS match, DOH and the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) did not always take sufficient steps to recover premium payments for the time when the members resided outside the state. OMIG officials indicated they may have lost the opportunity to recover up to $11.4 million of the improper premiums DiNapoli’s office identified due to regulatory look-back provisions. DiNapoli encouraged OMIG to expedite a review of the audit findings to recover improper premium payments made on behalf of people living out-of-state where appropriate.

While all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico participate in the federal PARIS match, not all of them participate every quarter, which can impact the effectiveness of the identification of out-of-state members.

DiNapoli recommended DOH:

• Verify the residency of members identified by a PARIS match who were not reviewed, as well as members identified as potentially residing outside of the state by other data sources, and recover improper premium payments where appropriate.
• Review the $299 million in premium payments for members whose eligibility was closed or not properly closed, and recover the payments where appropriate.
• Enhance processes to identify members living outside of the state and recover improper premium payments.

In their response, DOH officials generally concurred with the audit recommendations and indicated that it was already taking steps to address them. DOH agreed to explore the use of other data sources, including NCOA, to identify out-of-state members and engage with the federal government about incorporating data that helps establish residency into the PARIS matching process at the federal level.

Audit

Medicaid Program: Improper Premium Payments Made on Behalf of Managed Care Members Residing Outside the State

Stefanik, Blackburn Introduce Bills to End Cashless Bail in D.C. and Nationwide

 

House Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik introduced legislation to end cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and throughout the nation. Sen. Masha Blackburn has introduced the Senate companion versions. 

 

The Ending Cashless Bail in Our Nation’s Capital Act and the Keep Violent Criminals Off Our Streets Act would ban cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and would work to end it nationwide by prohibiting federal funds from going to support policies and Far Left officials who are releasing violent criminals back on the streets.

 

•   In August 2025, because of Gov. Kathy Hochul's Far Left policies, a Guatemalan national who, despite facing four felonies and two misdemeanors, is now free with no bail. Police said the accused criminal is responsible for 12 high school students being rushed to the hospital after they consumed gummies he sold them that were laced with dangerous and deadly drugs.

•   In 2022, a suspect on release and under indictment for a near-murder shooting of a 14-year-old boy in Washington, D.C. allegedly stabbed a person during an argument and fled the scene.

•   In August 2025, President Trump signed two executive orders to protect law-abiding citizens from the harms of cashless bail in Washington, D.C., and nationwide. Chairwoman Stefanik’s legislation would build on his efforts and make them permanent.

"Under Kathy Hochul's failed leadership, cashless bail policies in New York pose a clear and present danger to the Nation and must be terminated," said Chairwoman Stefanik. "Sen. Marsha Blackburn and I are working alongside President Trump to end the cashless bail disaster. We can’t allow arrested individuals who are awaiting trial to be released back onto the streets to commit more crimes against their communities."

“Cashless bail and other soft-on-crime policies have empowered violent criminals across our country, putting the lives of law-abiding citizens at risk,” said Senator Blackburn. “President Trump is leading the charge to restore law and order by ending these failed policies, and Congresswoman Stefanik and I are backing his efforts by introducing two bills to end cashless bail and keep violent offenders behind bars.”

“The National Association of Bail Agents & the NYS Bail Association are proud to stand with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's bill to end cashless bail policies in DC and across the nation!” said Michelle Esquenazi, President of The National Association of Bail Agents. “We applaud Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's bold initiatives and leadership, and we are certain that this legislation will serve to protect the public safety of law-abiding citizens everywhere!”

BACKGROUND:

 

Under Kathy Hochul's leadership, failed bail reform policy is a staple of her administration. In 2020, New York implemented failed bail reform to eliminate cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies throughout the entire state. Far Left judges often use their discretion to expand the baseline of the policy to free criminals into our communities, which often applies to repeat offenders, violent crimes, or certain circumstances.

 

“Zero Bail” policy resulted in 163 percent more crime and 200 percent more violent crime compared to those who posted bail, a 2023 study out of Yolo County, California, found. 

 

Read the legislation HERE and HERE.