With congestion pricing set to begin Sunday, New Jersey officials have made one final attempt to stop the plan. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Another hearing in the Murphy administration’s legal fight to stop congestion pricing is set for Friday afternoon, just 33 hours before the controversial toll to enter Manhattan is scheduled to start.
Federal Judge Leo Gordon is weighing whether to agree with Gov. Phil Murphy that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cannot begin collecting congestion tolls until federal officials address what Gordon in a ruling earlier this week called “disparate treatment” they gave to New Jersey when approving the tolling plan.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-05) gathered with labor leaders and elected officials in Fort Lee Thursday to repeat his opposition to the plan, which he says will overburden New Jersey towns with air pollution and traffic.
“It’s a new year and yet New York is up to the same old congestion tax strategy, doing everything they can to find cash to address their shocking mismanagement at the MTA, even if it puts the health of our children and families at risk here in northern New Jersey,” said Gottheimer, who is running to be the Democratic nominee in this year’s gubernatorial race.
When congestion pricing begins, most drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays will be charged $9.
The Murphy administration sued the federal government in July 2023 over the tolling plan, alleging federal officials had not given it proper review. Gordon on Monday issued a 72-page ruling largely seen as a victory for New York, though he ordered federal officials to address what he called deficiencies in the plan’s efforts to mitigate the environmental effects it will have on New Jersey. In response, New Jersey on Tuesday asked Gordon to issue an injunction barring the start of congestion pricing until the federal government addresses Gordon’s order.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority noted in a brief it filed late Thursday that Gordon’s Monday decision rejects the vast majority of New Jersey’s claims.
“New Jersey is dissatisfied with that outcome because its true purpose is to kill congestion pricing no matter what and however it can. That, of course, is no reason for the Court to revisit its Decision, or to issue an injunction,” the brief reads.
The two sides are scheduled to meet in a Newark federal courtroom at 3 p.m.
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