On Wednesday, the Trump Administration officially terminated federal approval of New York City's controversial congestion pricing tolls, which went into effect last month in order to reduce traffic in Manhattan’s central business district and generate funding to upgrade the city's mass transit system.
The move has prompted the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to respond almost immediately with a federal lawsuit in an attempt to derail the Trump Admin's nixing of the deeply unpopular fee.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy informed New York Governor Kathy Hochul in a letter that the "backwards and unfair" tolls posed an "unfair burden" on motorists outside Manhattan. Duffy also said that, due to the fact that the federal government had jurisdiction over the highways leading into the city, the Trump Admin would be axing the congestion pricing, effective immediately.
Congestion pricing imposed toll on most cars entering 60th Street to the southern end of the Financial District; motorist were slapped with a peak fee of $9 from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” Duffy said in statement. “Commuters using the highway system to enter New York City have already financed the construction and improvement of these highways through the payment of gas taxes and other taxes. But now the toll program leaves drivers without any free highway alternative, and instead, takes more money from working people to pay for a transit system and not highways."
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), criticized the Trump Admin's "utterly baseless and frankly, laughable" decision to end congestion pricing - claiming that it reduced noise pollution and contributed to safer, quieter streets - and threatened legal action over the matter.
"Mr. President, we’ll see you in court,” he said.
That threat quickly became reality, as within an hour of Duffy's letter hitting Hochul's desk on Wednesday, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber announced that a lawsuit had been filed in Manhattan federal court against the Trump Admin's “baseless effort” to halt NYC's congestion tolls.
“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 in a statement.
Named in the MTA's lawsuit are Duffy and the United States Department of Transportation, as well as and Federal Highway Administration Executive Director Gloria Shepherd and her agency.