Congestion pricing was sold as a green fix for New York City. One year in, a Columbia University and South Bronx Unite study of 19 air quality sensors found four locations in the Bronx showing significant increases in fine particulate matter — the kind the EPA links directly to cardiovascular disease, respiratory failure, and premature death.
The South Bronx was already called 'Asthma Alley' before the toll launched. City health data puts adult asthma rates at 20.7% there — versus 14.2% citywide. About 1 in 5 kids in Mott Haven–Port Morris has been diagnosed with asthma. The scheme generated $526 million in its first year, which MTA chief Janno Lieber called proof it's 'already succeeding.' Success for who?
The boardroom got cleaner air below 60th Street. Working-class families in the Bronx got the diverted truck traffic and the bill. That's not a policy failure — that's how rigged policy works.