The return of congestion pricing means the return of uncertainty for Staten Islander Sue Pepe.

“I don’t wanna leave. I want to retire from here,” she said.

What You Need To Know

  • Sue Pepe has been working in the nursing department at Lenox Health Greenwich Village in Manhattan for the last decade, but with the added toll, she says she'll have to look for a job on Staten Island

  • Pepe works until after midnight every shift, and says public transportation to and from the borough is not an option

  • There are exemptions for low-income drivers, however, Pepe would not qualify

  • She is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to consider an exemption for health care workers and first responders. So far, that hasn’t picked up any speed with the governor

Pepe has been working in the nursing department at Lenox Health Greenwich Village in Manhattan for the last decade, but with the added toll, she says she’ll have to look for a job on Staten Island.

“No matter where you go, you got to pay for a toll to get off the island. So the bridge alone, I have to pay [for] going and coming, and then I take the tunnel one way. So, that’s another toll that’s really difficult on Staten Island,” she said.

Pepe works until after midnight every shift and says public transportation to and from the borough is not an option.  

She would have to take a local bus or drive to the Staten Island railroad. From there, she would take a train ride to the ferry, hop off the ferry in Lower Manhattan and take the 1 train up to Greenwich Village.

Since that is a two-hour commute, Pepe drives into the city.

“The way I travel, it will be about $22 a day without gas,” she said. “We got a raise over three years of our contract with the union and we got the second raise, so we’re due for one more. So there goes my raise. The raise that we received is going to go to congestion pricing.”

Pepe said after Gov. Kathy Hochul paused congestion pricing in June, she was relieved but knew the toll would become reality one day.

This time, she said the governor left her with little time to prepare as congestion pricing is projected to begin on Jan. 5.

“No time at all. My schedule is out until February,” Pepe said.

There are exemptions for low-income drivers, however, Pepe would not qualify.

She is calling on Hochul to consider an exemption for health care workers and first responders. So far, that hasn’t picked up any speed with the governor.

“I have nine more years to get my full retirement. I love the staff I work with — a lot of people that I used to work with in Brooklyn before the hospital closed down as a world together. We all started together, and I really loved the village. I love the neighborhood. We’re like a family here,” Pepe said.