The MTA has already initiated legal action to prevent the Trump administration from halting New York City’s widely disliked congestion pricing program, which has garnered significant opposition. In response, vocal political figures and advocates supporting the toll have ramped up their own expressions of outrage.
Shortly after U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy sent a letter informing Governor Kathy Hochul of the federal government’s stance, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber issued a statement defending the toll system and vowing to counter the administration’s “unfounded effort.” Lieber made it clear that the MTA would not back down, calling the opposition “baseless.”
“Today, the MTA filed papers in federal court to ensure that the highly successful program — which has already dramatically reduced congestion, bringing reduced traffic and faster travel times, while increasing speeds for buses and emergency vehicles — will continue notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch those benefits away from the millions of mass transit users, pedestrians and, especially, the drivers who come to the Manhattan Central Business District,” Lieber said.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan, targets Duffy, Federal Highway Administration Executive Director Gloria Shepherd, and their agencies, highlighting the achievement of congestion pricing as a pioneering step toward easing traffic and encouraging the use of public transport.
“It’s mystifying that after four years and 4,000 pages of federally supervised environmental review — and barely three months after giving final approval to the Congestion Relief Program — USDOT would seek to totally reverse course,” Lieber’s statement concluded.
The congestion pricing initiative, which charges drivers $9 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street, started in early January as the nation’s first such program.
In his letter to Hochul, Duffy stated that the federal government would cooperate with New York state to ensure the “orderly termination” of the tolls, though the exact timing of when the $9 fee would cease was not immediately clear.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” Trump, who had previously promised to dismantle the toll, proclaimed on Truth Social.
Governor Hochul, who has been uncertain about her stance on congestion pricing, responded shortly after Trump’s post, expressing her support for the MTA’s lawsuit and defending the toll.
“Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking,” Hochul said, claiming without evidence that “support for this program is growing every day.”
In a pointed remark aimed directly at President Trump, with whom she is scheduled to meet in Washington, DC, she added, “We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We’ll see you in court.”
Hochul was not the only New York politician to criticize Trump and express approval for the toll. State Senator Andrew Gounardes also issued a statement, claiming that the president’s action would lead to “more traffic, more crashes, more polluted air, slower buses and less funding for our transit system.” He denounced the move as “ridiculous” and “backwards,” defending congestion pricing as a “successful program” that would be harmed if the federal government intervened.
“My message to the President? We will fight this decision and we will see you in court,” Gounardes said.
Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY-12) also condemned the DOT’s decision, calling its arguments “utterly baseless and frankly, laughable,” and questioning the administration’s legal authority to undo the program.
“I firmly believe that there is no legal basis for the President to unilaterally halt this program. The Value Pricing Program is solidly established under federal law, and its approval cannot be arbitrarily revoked, especially when it is clearly delivering tangible benefits. Mr. President, we’ll see you in court,” Nadler asserted.
Betsy Plum, Executive Director of the Riders Alliance, a group advocating for public transit users, argued that congestion pricing has had a positive impact on transit riders and pledged to fight the administration’s attempts to dismantle it.
“We organized for a decade, held two governors accountable, and prevailed in court in three states after years of exhaustive environmental studies. We are committed to maintaining and expanding on our victory and will defend it with everything we have,” Plum stated.
Columbia Law School professor Michael Gerrard, who supports the toll program, expressed doubt that the federal government could legally shut it down.
“The Federal Highway Administration approved congestion pricing and allowed it to start up. It has survived several court challenges. It’s not at all clear that they can legally revoke the approval now. This new decision is likely to be back in court before long, and meanwhile the tolls will probably stay in place unless a judge rules otherwise,” Gerrard said.
Arthur Schwartz, an attorney involved in the legal challenge against Governor Hochul’s temporary suspension of congestion pricing in June — which she later reversed — also weighed in.
“The excuse given by the secretary of transportation that he ‘disagrees’ with the prior Transportation Secretary’s interpretation of the law, does not give him the right to tear up an agreement which was properly developed under federal law and regulations,” Schwartz remarked.
Other attorneys who had fought to reverse Hochul’s pause on the toll system shared similar views.
“The federal government signed a contract with the City and State to allow congestion pricing. It’s a contract like any other. The government can’t walk away from a written agreement just because there is a new Administration in power,” said Andrew G. Celli, Jr., a lawyer for The City Club of New York.
“We applaud the MTA for bringing this suit. A deal is a deal — and the MTA has the right to enforce it in court,” Celli added.
{Matzav.com}