Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday told pro-congestion pricing groups challenging her indefinite pause of the first-in-the-nation tolling program to “get in line.”
Hochul, through a spokesperson, dismissed the two new lawsuits filed Thursday in an attempt to re-start the plan that would charge drivers $15 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.
âGet in line. There are now 11 separate congestion pricing lawsuits filed by groups trying to weaponize the judicial system to score political points,â the Hochul rep said.
The pair of Manhattan Supreme Court suits, first reported by The Post on Wednesday, mark the first legal challenges to Hochul’s decision instituting an âindefinite pauseâ of the congestion pricing scheme just before it was set to take effect June 30.
The suits, which also name the MTA as a defendant, claim the governor didn’t have authority over the tolling program, or the power to halt it.
They also argue that Hochul’s âindefinite pauseâ violates a 2021 amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing New Yorkers access to clean air and a healthy environment.
City Comptroller Brad Lander — a vocal critic of Hochul’s move to pause the toll — said he was helping coordinate the opposition, though is not a plaintiff in the lawsuits, one of which was filed by the Riders Alliance and Sierra Club, and the other by The City Club of New York.
âThis is a giant mistake,â Lander told reporters Thursday.
âOur transit system is in desperate need of a dedicated funding stream to enable the MTA to invest in a modern signal system they donât make sure trains come on time,â Lander continued.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber punted commenting on the lawsuits until heâs had time to read through the details of the accusations.
âIâm not going to get into my private conversation with the Governor, but Iâm unaware of the specifics of those lawsuits so it probably doesnât make sense for me to comment on them,â he said at an unrelated press conference.
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