The Congestion Relief Zone opens: nine emeralds to bring a minecart into Lower Man A

At 00:00 New A time the redstone lamps on the New BK Bridge turned from green to gold, and the first minecart of 2025 paid nine emeralds to roll into Lower Man A. The Congestion Relief Zone — every street south of Central Park, from the World Trade Center to the Times Square screens — is now the most expensive place in the city to drive.

The scheme mirrors the one across the river in the real New York almost gantry for gantry: nine emeralds per minecart during the day, a discount overnight, horses and llamas exempt, elytra landings 'under review'. The Governor paused the toll in mid-2024, then brought it back at the lower rate in November; City Hall spent December wiring the readers.

Revenue is pledged to the Metro and to Atlantic Terminal, the Downtown New BK hub still under construction. 'Every emerald goes underground,' the Metro authority said, which villagers at the Well took two ways.

Long Island commuters, who reach Man A by the highway and the bridge, are the loudest objectors. Mill Bergen's shopkeepers are split: Triangle Junction expects more Metro foot traffic; the Church Avenue gas stations expect less of everything.

The first day's count: 2,140 paid entries, 31 warnings for unregistered carts, and one llama that City Hall insists was not tolled.