It’s an idea from New York so despised and disastrous it begs the obvious question: can Boston be far behind?

Congestion pricing – the euphemism pushed by liberal Democrats and woke environmentalists to toll cars coming into the big city – was just launched in Manhattan this week, causing fear and chaos among commuters there with gridlock and parking nightmares.

Many motorists looking to avoid the $9 tax are expected to ditch their cars in New Jersey and surrounding boroughs, turning the clogged streets into parking lots.

Critics claim the plan – which is backed by transit advocates and Democrats in Massachusetts – will bring more noise and air pollution to their neighborhoods and are suing to prevent the city from adopting it.

“My constituents who still have no real public transit connection to Manhattan are looking forward to treating the posh, transit-rich, gentrified, brownstone Brooklyn as their new park-and-ride,” New York City Councilor Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) told the New York Post.

The toll is more expensive during peak congestion times, and cheaper during overnight visits to Manhattan.

Supporters of the toll, which was delayed for months by legal challenges, want to push commuters into taking the crime-ridden subway instead of driving, but that seems overly optimistic.

The reality is most commuters will scour the crowded streets outside Manhattan for prized parking spots to save a few bucks.

New York mayoral candidate Jim Walden said of the toll backers: “My friends on the far left really don’t care about the outer boroughs. They’re creating less congestion in Manhattan and more congestion everywhere else.”

Despite the problems, some are making a big push for Boston to adopt congestion pricing like New York’s to discourage people from driving into the city.

Can you imagine Massachusetts commuters dropping their cars off in Brookline or Revere or Somerville and relying on the unreliable MBTA every day to get to work in Boston?

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has said she’s open to congestion pricing here, raising fears that the expensive toll could pass the clueless Legislature and clown show Boston City Council.

“I think all tools should be on the table, including congestion pricing,” Wu said in June.

Boston’s traffic is among the worst in the nation, making it an ideal target for congestion pricing advocates. The tolls would go toward improvements in the T.

But Gov. Maura Healey earlier this year shot down an idea by her own transportation secretary to recommend new tolls on state highways leading into Massachusetts.

“I am focused on affordability, I am focused on competitiveness,” she said. “I’m not putting tolls at the border.”

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn last year wrote an opinion piece slamming congestion pricing.

“It will further burden middle-class families, disproportionately impact communities of color, and further strain a struggling transportation system,” Flynn wrote.

But that hasn’t stopped the council – now headed by liberal Ruthzee Louijeune – from taking a closer look at the congestion pricing plan.

And don’t be surprised if the council pushes the plan now that New York has stupidly taken the leap.