NEW YORK — Manhattan’s congestion pricing program is set to begin Sunday, Jan. 5, following a ruling by a federal court judge in New Jersey — although the parties on either side of the lawsuit involved disagree whether the ruling allows that to happen.
The congestion pricing plan, which will charge a $9 toll for most vehicles entering lower Manhattan, will provide funding for Metropolitan Transportation Authority capital projects, including new railcars and modernized subway signaling. A number of lawsuits, including one by the state of New Jersey, have sought to block the program.
On Monday, Dec. 30, Judge Leo M. Gordon issued a 72-page ruling mostly denying New Jersey’s request for summary judgment to block the plan. As the website Gothamist reports, he did find that the Federal Highway Administration — which approved the tolling — and the MTA did not provide enough information on how they will address pollution and traffic in New Jersey. Absent that, he reserved judgment on the overall toll program until he receives additional information, for which he set a Feb. 11 deadline.
One of the lawyers for New Jersey argues that means congestion tolling cannot begin until after the judge receives and considers the additional information. But other attorneys told Gothamist that because the ruling does not include an injunction or state, New York is free to proceed.
That is the viewpoint of New York and the MTA. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a Monday statement that “Despite the best efforts of the State of New Jersey … our position has prevailed in court on nearly every issue.” With the ruling, she said, “the program will move forward this weekend with a 40% reduction in the originally proposed cost of the toll.”
MTA CEO Janno Lieber said in his own statement that “on virtually every issue, Judge Gordon agreed with the New York federal court and rejected New Jersey’s claim that the Environmental Assessment approved 18 months ago was deficient.” Lieber said the decision “does not interfere with the program’s scheduled implementation this coming Sunday,” and that on the remaining issues, “we’re confident that the subsequent Federal actions, including the approval of the revised, reduced toll rates, did put those issues to rest.”
The New York Times reports that attorneys for New Jersey, in a late-night court filing on Tuesday, Dec. 31, asked Gordon to delay the start of the tolling program, saying it would cause “irreparable harm.” Gothamist reports a hearing is set for Friday, Jan. 3.
Two other federal judges last week turned down injunction requests from parties involved in other lawsuits seeking to block the start of tolling, leaving New Jersey’s suit as the last potential barrier.
Implementation of congestion pricing was to have started in mid-2024, but Hochul blocked it shortly before its scheduled start in June, citing potential financial hardships to residents [see “New York governor halts Manhattan congestion pricing …,” Trains News Wire, June 5, 2024]. That led the MTA to postpone more than $16 billion in capital plans. But shortly after November’s election, Hochul revived the plan, although with lower toll rates until 2031 [see “New York governor introduces revised …,” Nov. 14, 2024].
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