Gov. Cuomo Is Even More Disliked Than His Congestion Pricing Plan

NEW YORK, NY — New Yorkers dislike Gov. Andrew Cuomo even more than his contentious plan to fix the subways, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows.

Some 62 percent of New York City voters disapprove of how the Democratic governor is handling the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to the poll published Wednesday. Just 32 percent think Cuomo is doing a good job.

Some 54 percent of city voters dislike a Cuomo-appointed commission's congestion pricing plan, which would toll cars and trucks entering Manhattan below 60th Street. About 42 percent think it's a good idea.

City residents have more contempt for Cuomo and congestion pricing than voters elsewhere in the state. Some 49 percent of voters statewide dislike how Cuomo's handling the MTA, while just 29 percent approve. The margin is thinner on the tolling plan — 49 percent disapprove and 43 percent approve.

The numbers reflect straphangers' anger toward Cuomo, who effectively controls the MTA. Advocates have called for the governor to take swifter action while riders have flooded him with angry tweets since the subway crisis hit its peak last summer.

"The consensus is someone has to pay the fare for bad mass transit, and at the moment, it's Gov. Andrew Cuomo who's getting his political ticket punched," Tim Mallory, the assistant director of Quinnipiac's polling program, said in a statement.

The results come as lawmakers are starting debate in the State Capitol over how to fund long overdue subway upgrades in the long term. Congestion pricing doesn't have an easy road to Cuomo's desk. Several outer-borough lawmakers oppose it, and state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan has reportedly expressed skepticism about it.

Cuomo's handling of the city region's mass transit system is reviled regardless of party, race or geography, Quinnipiac found. Even 44 percent of Democrats say he's doing a bad job with the MTA, while just 36 percent approve of how he's handling the agency.

Voters are divided along political lines on congestion pricing, the poll shows. Some 58 percent of Republicans oppose the plan, but it carries a narrow favorable margin among Democrats, with 47 percent backing it and 44 percent opposing it.

Voters of color are firmly against the plan — 56 percent oppose it and 38 percent support it. White voters are more divided, with 46 percent backing it and 44 percent opposing it.

Congestion pricing is most popular among upstate voters — 46 percent support it and 30 percent oppose it. But it's most reviled among suburban voters, many of whom commute to the city. Some 57 percent oppose the plan and just 38 percent support it.

Cuomo's office did not respond to an email seeking comment on the poll results.

(Lead image: Gov. Andrew Cuomo vacuums trash on a subway track in September 2017. Photo by Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo