US foes Iran, Russia, other UN diplomats exempt from NYC congestion pricing as taxpayers forced to foot bill

Earlier this month, New York implemented its widely-contested Congestion Relief Zone tolling scheme, which charges drivers between $9 and $21.60 per day to drive below 60th Street in Manhattan. 

On Jan. 6, the State Department released guidance that exempts employees and personnel from foreign missions and international organizations, including the United Nations, from paying Congestion Relief Zone fees. 

"Wait ‘til the people get a load of this," New York City Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino told Fox News Digital. "Why should a truck driver from Queens or New Jersey face a new burden of $10K a year for delivering into Manhattan while some corrupt Iranian diplomat gets total immunity?"  

The Queens Republican told Fox News Digital that the announcement of special treatment for United Nations personnel did not "come as any surprise." Paladino said the U.N. "has been using our city as their personal playground for decades, and the State Department has enabled them with blanket exemptions from the many laws and fines that regular New Yorkers struggle with," adding, "it's just one big mess."

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"Our diplomats can just skate about anywhere they like in the five boroughs," Paladino said, explaining how diplomats are routinely forgiven for speeding tickets, fines and parking tickets. "We’ve seen cars with diplomat plates rack[ing] up six figures in unpaid parking fines," she said.

An investigation by NBC New York in 2022 found that Russian diplomats had accumulated over $100,000 in unpaid fines for parking since 2003. A State Department spokesperson referred NBC to a policy indicating that "three or more unpaid violations since 2003 will result in a nation being suspended from registering or renewing diplomatic license plates." Russia had 46 outstanding unpaid tickets, but the State Department "declined to say definitively" to NBC News reporters if Russia’s ability to register or renew diplomatic plates was suspended.

The Congestion Relief Zone charges drivers based on the size of their vehicle. These rates, which will increase in 2031, are meant to raise funds to upgrade the transportation system and reduce traffic in the zone. Paladino said that these fees will not result in "any improvement that is going to be worth the kind of money they’re going to be raking in." Describing an "absolutely filthy, dirty, disgusting" subway system and a Metropolitan Transportation Authority deeply in debt, Paladino said that "the trust factor here is nil." 

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Congestion pricing has already had an impact beyond decreasing traffic. The New York Post reported on Jan. 3 that the New York City union for EMTs and paramedics urged its members to transfer from stations within the Congestion Relief Zone because workers making less than $19 per hour could not afford the $45 weekly charge to enter the zone.

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department to ask why they issued an exemption for U.N. personnel, how many vehicles were estimated to be exempted by their guidance and whether New York and New Jersey residents ought to shoulder the economic burden of the Congestion Relief Zone while U.N. personnel, including representatives from unfriendly foreign regimes, pay nothing. There was no response.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the offices of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul's office for comment but received no response.

"As far as economically," congestion pricing is "probably the worst thing that could happen so soon after COVID," Paladino added. She said that fixing a "broken city" does not occur "by just doubling down on the middle class and the lower middle class." 

There are 193 member states of the United Nations, many with missions in and around New York City.