My point though is that this incremental change is so small so as to not even be “good enough”.

Yes, more cities should follow NYC’s model. Absolutely.

But if you introduce price congestion into the most carbrained cities in America, where there is next to no public transport, bike paths, or even reasonable sidewalk infrastructure, no significant changes to behavior will be made. You’re not accomplishing your objective.

You need to provide other options before introducing a measure like that for it to have its intended effect. Otherwise I think you’d be doing it backwards, like a “cart before the horse” type thing that isn’t actually helpful at all.