New York’s hotly debated congestion-pricing plan has faced its fair share of challenges since the State Legislature passed it into law in 2019, but it is now finally set to begin midnight Sunday, after a pair of last minute legal attempts by New Jersey to delay the plan failed.
The program originally cleared several political and legal hurdles and was ultimately approved by the federal government, but Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the MTA to pause its scheduled implementation last June. In November, the governor unveiled a revised version of the plan, lowering the base toll from $15 to $9 for drivers traveling at or below 60th Street in Manhattan.
In December, a New York City federal judge ruled against four separate lawsuits challenging congestion pricing, including filings from the United Federation of Teachers and the Staten Island borough president, Vito Fossella. The lawsuits argued that the toll would be a financial burden on New Yorkers and would result in increased pollution to different neighborhoods due to shifting travel patterns.
On Friday, the state of New Jersey, which has long opposed congestion pricing, sought an 11th-hour temporary restraining order from a federal judge to once again delay implementation. “Without enforceable mitigation measures to alleviate significant environmental impacts in New Jersey, traffic increases and attendant air quality impacts will surely result from the congestion pricing scheme,” the filing read. But U.S. District Court Judge Leo Gordon denied the state’s request on Friday evening.
New Jersey then sought emergency relief from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court rejected their appeal on Saturday.
The filings from New Jersey came after Judge Gordon issued a long-awaited ruling on Monday in a lawsuit brought by the state, asking for further details about federal regulators’ plans regarding mitigating environmental impacts from the program but not officially calling for a delay of the toll’s implementation. Proponents of congestion pricing took the judge’s decision as a win, with MTA chair Janno Lieber confirming in a statement that the agency planned to move forward with the start of the program. However, Randy Mastro, an attorney representing New Jersey in the matter, saw the judge’s decision as halting the plan, writing in a statement that the MTA “cannot proceed with implementing the current congestion pricing proposal.” He didn’t win that argument.
Time is of the essence for advocates of the state’s congestion-pricing plan. When the program takes effect, it will still fall during the Biden administration, which will likely make it harder for it to be undone following the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The president-elect has been a vocal opponent of the plan and has previously vowed to do away with congestion pricing once elected.
This post has been updated.
