Federal Project Grant Award Summary

New York University School of Medicine received a $4.13 million Project Grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under the Environmental Health program (CFDA 93.113), awarded April 22, 2026, with completion targeted for April 21, 2030. The award funds a quasi-experimental research study evaluating the health impacts of New York City's congestion pricing policy, the first cordon-based congestion charge implemented in the United States. The research will assess whether the policy—designed to alleviate traffic and improve transit—generates measurable improvements in air quality and health outcomes by comparing asthma acute care events and cardiovascular events in the congestion zone relative to surrounding comparison areas across a seven-year pre-policy baseline and three years post-implementation.

The project deliverables include epidemiological analysis identifying the impact of congestion pricing on acute health events, a time-series air quality model utilizing local monitoring data to track pollution trends within and outside the congestion zone, and evaluation of policy spillover effects on communities adjacent to the congestion zone. The research directly supports NIEHS's mission to investigate environmental exposures and translate findings into disease reduction strategies, addressing a critical knowledge gap regarding differential health impacts of congestion pricing policies across subgroup populations and geographic areas within affected regions.