Poll: Congestion Pricing Is Unpopular, But So Is Hochul

New Yorkers aren’t thrilled with Kathy Hochul, according to a new poll.

A Siena College poll released Thursday shows that the governor’s overall approval rating has dropped since last month in the wake of her last-second pause of the congestion-pricing program that was set to go into effect at the end of June — even though most voters also disapprove of congestion pricing itself.

Thirty-eight percent of voters polled said they had a favorable opinion of the governor, with 49 percent reporting they had an unfavorable impression of Hochul, an uptick from 46 percent in a May Siena College poll. The poll surveyed 805 New York State registered voters from ​​June 12 to June 17.

On Hochul’s actual job performance, 50 percent of total voters said they disapproved of the job she’s doing while 44 percent said they approved. This marks her lowest job-approval rating since she took office in 2021, according to the pollster.

Voters seemed to agree with Hochul on one thing: congestion pricing. Forty-five percent of New York voters said they supported the governor’s decision to put the program on hold; 23 percent opposed it. When broken down by party affiliation, 46 percent of Democrats backed pausing congestion pricing as well as 45 percent of Republicans and 43 percent of independents.

Hochul is not the only politician with lukewarm numbers in the state. Fifty-three percent of voters disapprove of the job that Joe Biden is doing as president with only 45 percent approving. When asked who they would support if the 2024 election was held today, 47 percent of total voters said Biden while 39 percent said they’d back Donald Trump.