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Dear New Yorkers,

At the MTA’s board meeting on Wednesday —  the first since Gov. Kathy Hochul reversed course on congestion pricing — the agency confirmed that it is scaling back ambitious future plans.

Earlier this month, the governor announced she wanted to delay the June 30 start of a Manhattan tolling program designed to cut congestion, improve air quality and fund transit improvements.

While some transit advocates and proponents of the fundraising strategy had hoped that MTA officials would balk and the board would revolt somehow, the panel gave Hochul their blessing with a 10-1 vote.

“We’re not coming up with plans to go rogue and have a coup against the state of New York, it’s nonsense,” MTA CEO and Chairperson Janno Lieber said after the board meeting in Lower Manhattan. “What we’re doing is being businesslike and just making sure, number one, that we’re protecting ridership and service and, number two, that we remain ready to implement congestion pricing when the temporary pause, as it’s been described, is lifted.”

For now, the state-run authority plans to shift away from station repairs and accessibility upgrades, as well as away from expansion projects that would have extended the Second Avenue Subway to Harlem and created a Brooklyn-Queens light rail line.

Read more here about the MTA’s next steps after Hochul’s abrupt decision.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Thursday's Weather Rating: 8/10. Morning clouds and showers clear out, with high temperatures in the mid-80s today. Most importantly, a westerly breeze and falling dew points have things feeling much nicer this afternoon. The vibes are improving!

Our Other Top Stories

A citywide program to provide free doula services to lower-income, pregnant New Yorkers appears to be at a crossroads — with the law mandating its funding set to expire at the end of the month. Mayor Eric Adams has long said that expanding doula services is necessary to tackle racial disparities in maternal health: the city’s own statistics show that Black women in New York City are four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related mortality issues. But doulas who have participated in the initiative told THE CITY they are frustrated with some aspects of the program.  This week, THE CITY celebrated ways to get out on the water in our Summer & THE CITY newsletter. Our staff visited a free surf camp in the Rockaways that teaches more than 100 students how to ride waves, and gave a first-person look inside Brighton Beach’s open water swimming community.

Reporter’s Notebook

The Council Districts That Said Yes

A study released Thursday by the New York Housing Conference, an affordable housing advocacy nonprofit, shows once again that new housing is only being built in a few areas of the city.

In April, the Department of City Planning released a report showing that 10 community districts produced as much housing as the other 49 combined last year. NYHC’s research shows the same story for affordable housing analyzed by City Council districts, which are similar but not identical to community districts.

Last year, the top 10 Council districts each produced at least 600 units of new affordable housing. Meanwhile, low population density areas in Staten Island, northern and central Queens and southern Brooklyn, as well as Manhattan districts with high construction costs and little available land, each added less than 10.

The finding comes as the Adams administration City of Yes housing plan, designed to build more housing in every neighborhood, heads for a full City Council vote later this year. The two Council districts with the best records: District 17 in the South Bronx, represented by Democrat Rafael Salamanca, and District 21 in Queens, represented by Democrat Francisco Moya. Those districts both added more than 1,000 affordable units last year.

— Greg David

Summer & THE CITY brings you the best of summer, by and for New Yorkers. It’s a free, weekly newsletter to help you enjoy — and survive — the hottest months in the five boroughs.

(Plus, we’re about to start raffling THE CITY’s limited edition summer merch over there. Don’t miss out.)

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Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Thursday, June 27: The Queens Jazz Trail: Antonio Hart Quartet, part of an evening concert series celebrating the borough’s jazz history. Free from 7 to 9 p.m. at Archie Spigner Park. Friday, June 28: Watch the 2003 animated film “The Triplets of Belleville” outdoors. (In French, with English subtitles.) Free from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at J. Hood Wright Park in Manhattan. Sunday, June 30: Celebrate Kensington!, a festival with art, music and food. Free from 1 to 5 p.m. at Kensington Culture, Avenue C Plaza, in Brooklyn.

THE KICKER: A shark named Liberty, to whom scientists affixed a camera, has revealed that the North Atlantic Ocean’s main great white shark nursery is off of Long Island, reports National Geographic. It’s a breakthrough in ichthyology that suggests hundreds of young sharks are hanging out in the waters within 12 miles of the coastline — a triangle bounded by Montauk Point, NYC, and Cape May, N.J.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Thursday.

Love,

THE CITY

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