Here Are How NYC Congestion Pricing Mitigation Funds Have Been Used

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a $20 million investment in Bronx childhood asthma programs, funded through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion pricing mitigation plan.

The funding will support expanded asthma care in schools and community programs in neighborhoods where children continue to experience high rates of respiratory illness despite citywide declines.

“New Yorkers are already benefitting from congestion pricing, and now we’re taking it a step further by investing those funds to improve asthma outcomes for children in the Bronx,” Mamdani said.

The investment draws from the MTA’s $100 million mitigation program aimed at communities disproportionately affected by pollution and health inequities, according to city officials.

The city Health Department will distribute the funding across two programs: $8.9 million for the Bronx Asthma Program and $11.1 million to expand school-based asthma case management.

Under the expansion, 15 additional Bronx schools will join the asthma case management program, which provides in-school medication support and family education. The city also plans to replace a paper-based medication system with an electronic platform before the 2026–27 school year.

The MTA’s mitigation program has previously funded emissions reduction projects, including truck electrification and refrigeration unit replacements in Hunts Point, officials said.

Children in the Bronx continue to face higher asthma rates than most of the city, even as emergency department visits for children ages 5 to 17 fell 38 percent citywide and 25 percent in the Bronx between 2009 and 2024, according to city data.

How Have Congestion Pricing Funds Been Used?

New York’s congestion pricing mitigation program directs $100 million total to neighborhoods most affected by vehicle pollution, including the Bronx, Brooklyn and northern Manhattan.

Hunts Point refrigeration unit replacements — $15 million

The MTA allocated $15 million to replace roughly 1,000 diesel transport refrigeration units at the Hunts Point Produce Market, a major emissions source in the Bronx.

Electric truck charging infrastructure — $20 million

The program set aside $20 million to expand electric truck charging infrastructure across industrial and freight-heavy areas to reduce diesel truck emissions.

NYC Clean Trucks Program — part of $230 million regional mitigation pool

A broader $230 million mitigation category includes funding for the NYC Clean Trucks Program, which subsidizes the replacement of diesel trucks with electric, hybrid, and low-emission vehicles.

School air quality improvements — about $10 million

Roughly $10 million has been directed toward installing or upgrading air filtration systems in schools located near highways and high-traffic corridors.

Parks and neighborhood greening — about $25 million

The program includes approximately $25 million for parks upgrades and greening projects in environmental justice communities to reduce exposure to pollution.