Also today: LA pushes to rebuild homes faster, and real estate vultures eye middle-class homeowners.

Early data from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suggests that traffic has dropped around Manhattan’s core.

Traffic entering Manhattan below 60th Street dropped by 7.5% in the first week after the start of a controversial $9 toll on driving in that area.

Drivers using the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels saw travel times drop due to congestion pricing, an MTA report said.

Systemwide, the MTA anticipated a 1% increase in transit ridership with congestion pricing, but day-to-day fluctuations make it hard to pinpoint the impact, said Michaelson.

The introduction of a $9 congestion fee has resulted in faster speeds on some of the city’s famously snarled streets and fewer commuters on the bridges and tunnels. “The traffic is absolutely less, even during rush hour,