E-ZPass readers and cameras are in place to start New York City’s congestion pricing program on Jan. 5.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who blocked the program just weeks before its original start in June, is on board this time. Federal transportation officials have signed off. And the region’s mass transit system is still counting on the billions of dollars that are expected to be generated through new tolls to drive into the busiest parts of Manhattan.
But even as congestion pricing seems like it is happening for real this time, it could still unravel at the last minute because of a flurry of legal challenges, including from the State of New Jersey; Vito J. Fossella, the Staten Island borough president; and the United Federation of Teachers.
At least 10 lawsuits have been brought against the tolling program in federal and state courts in New York and New Jersey in recent years. Plaintiffs in those cases have argued that the new tolls would be a financial burden for commuters, hurt small businesses, and shift traffic and pollution to other parts of the city and region — including to disadvantaged communities like East Harlem and the South Bronx.
It is not unusual for high-profile transportation projects to land in court — and it is also not uncommon for judges to halt projects, at least temporarily. In this case, congestion pricing has already been stopped once by a politician, and its most powerful detractor, President-elect Donald J. Trump, has said he would end it permanently once he takes office next month. If a court decides on even a slight delay, it would make Mr. Trump’s promise easier to carry out.
“We’re not giving up,” said Kathryn Freed, a member of New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax, which is suing to stop the program. Ms. Freed said the tolls would contribute to an increase in the cost of goods and services, including deliveries, in the congestion zone as toll charges are passed along to customers.
When Ms. Hochul paused the program in June, she said it was because she was concerned that the new tolls could weigh on New York City’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Since she resurrected it last month — with a lower toll ($9 instead of $15 for most drivers) — the governor and transportation leaders have fast-tracked the restart.
The program could now be stopped or delayed by a lawsuit filed by the State of New Jersey, which contends that federal transportation officials allowed the tolling program to move ahead without a comprehensive environmental review of the possible adverse effects on communities across the Hudson River.
Randy Mastro, a lawyer representing New Jersey, has requested a decision “as soon as possible” in the case, which was argued in April in Newark. “New York’s rush to implement its revised scheme without any further study is simply unconscionable,” Mr. Mastro said.
Plaintiffs in New York have also raised environmental concerns about congestion pricing, but those were previously dismissed. Those cases continue to be litigated on other issues, including the tolling program’s socioeconomic impacts on residents and small businesses.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the congestion pricing program, has repeatedly cited an environmental assessment that was thousands of pages long as proof that the plan’s possible impacts had been thoroughly studied.
The program will now begin before Mr. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. He has vowed to kill the tolls as one of his first acts in office, saying that the program would drive visitors and businesses from Manhattan. He could try to withdraw federal approval for the plan, especially if it has not begun.
Janno Lieber, the M.T.A.’s chief executive, said in a November interview on NY1 that he wanted to “make sure that the politics of the change in Washington does not become a hindrance to this.”
“So, we’re going to get it going, and we’re going to obviously defend the inevitable lawsuits,” he said.
Under the revised program, most passenger cars will pay $9 a day — a 40 percent reduction from the original $15 toll — to enter Manhattan at 60th Street or below during peak traffic times. Trucks will pay up to $14.40 or $21.60, depending on their size.
But the changes don’t mean the program is safe from the courts.
“There have been any number of court decisions that have had the effect of killing projects,” said Michael Gerrard, a Columbia Law School professor who supports congestion pricing. “They rarely say you can never do it, but they throw up roadblocks and often the developers give up.”
One of the most famous legal battles was over Westway, a massive underground highway and development project that was to be built in a new landfill area along Manhattan’s west side. The project was blocked by a series of court rulings in the 1980s that found that the environmental review had been inadequate. New York officials subsequently abandoned the project.
Judge Lewis J. Liman, who is overseeing four of the lawsuits against congestion pricing, has scheduled a Dec. 20 hearing in Federal District Court in Manhattan. He previously ruled in June that there had been sufficient environmental review of the project.
The four lawsuits were filed by two separate groups of New York residents: by Mr. Fossella, the Staten Island borough president, and Michael Mulgrew, the president of the teachers’ union; and by the Trucking Association of New York, a trade group representing delivery companies.
Three other federal lawsuits have been filed by Rockland County, Orange County and the town of Hempstead on Long Island. Hempstead has also filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Nassau County.
Across the Hudson, Mark J. Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., has brought a separate lawsuit from the State of New Jersey.
After Ms. Hochul paused congestion pricing, supporters of the program also turned to the courts. Riders Alliance, the City Club of New York and the Sierra Club were among the groups that sued to reverse Ms. Hochul’s decision, arguing that she lacked the authority to halt the program and had undermined the state’s environmental goals.
When Ms. Hochul brought back congestion pricing last month, the groups agreed to settle the cases. Supporters have also filed amicus briefs in favor of the plan in courts where it faces challenges.
“Congestion pricing can’t happen soon enough,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance. “Yet a judge could still throw sand in the gears,” he added.
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