A federal court judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to force New York to end congestion pricing, ensuring the tolling program would remain in place until at least early next month.
The move effectively keeps congestion pricing, which charges motorists to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, running through at least June 9 by preventing the Trump administration from withholding funding for New York transportation projects if the program is not halted. President Trump has vowed for months to kill the toll.
The decision grants a key reprieve to the program, the first of its kind in the United States, since Washington ordered New York to shut it down more than three months ago. The toll, which started on Jan. 5, charges most drivers $9 during peak traffic hours, with the goal of reducing gridlock and funding long overdue mass transit improvements.
Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s request for a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration after oral arguments from both sides in federal court in Lower Manhattan. The authority, which runs New York City’s mass transit system, operates the toll program.
Judge Liman said that New York State “would suffer irreparable harm” without a restraining order. He also left open the possibility of issuing a longer-term protective order. Judge Liman noted that the M.T.A. “showed a likelihood of success” in its case to maintain congestion pricing, which had gone through years of federal, local and state review.
Charles Roberts, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Transportation, said the federal government would comply with the judge’s order. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
In a February letter, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said he was revoking federal approval of the toll, because it exceeded the scope of the program that authorized it. He said it was an unfair cost to drivers, and that the toll should not primarily be used to fund mass transit projects instead of roads.
The M.T.A. quickly sued to block Mr. Duffy’s intervention, arguing that the program had been thoroughly reviewed, including by federal agencies, and was working as planned. Since the toll started, traffic is down, speeds are up and the authority is on track to use the toll revenue to finance $15 billion in critical upgrades.
Despite both sides agreeing to let the case play out in court, Mr. Duffy said last month that his agency would begin withholding federal approvals and funding for a range of transportation projects beginning on May 28, starting with a payment freeze on a number of highway and transit accessibility projects.
Janno Lieber, the chief executive and chair of the M.T.A., said he welcomed the judge’s decision.
“I think the message is he wants no more coercive threats and threats of punishment if we don’t do what they say,” he said of Judge Liman’s ruling.
Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer representing the M.T.A., said that the federal government’s efforts to end congestion pricing, even after New York had gained approval, could lead to an “eternal fog of uncertainty” for federally approved programs, and could have a chilling effect on other major infrastructure projects that rely on the government’s cooperation.
Kevin Willens, the M.T.A.’s chief financial officer, argued in a letter to the court that Washington’s threats had put the authority in an impossible situation.
The M.T.A. could either turn off the toll, jeopardizing the $15 billion the program is expected to raise for urgent transit repairs, or it could defy Mr. Duffy’s demands, and face the prospect of losing billions in funding for New York State highway and transit projects from the federal government.
Abruptly ending the toll program would leave the M.T.A. on the hook to pay for about $1.4 billion in debt related to congestion pricing that the authority had already taken out, Mr. Willens wrote, wreaking havoc on a slate of planned transit improvements.
Stefanos Chen is a Times reporter covering New York City’s transit system.
Winnie Hu is a Times reporter covering the people and neighborhoods of New York City.
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