Feds give final approval for congestion pricing as Hempstead files lawsuit

Federal transportation officials have granted final approval for New York’s congestion pricing plan, clearing the way for the MTA to charge vehicles $9 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan beginning on January 5th.

Announcement of the approval followed the filing of a new lawsuit by Hempstead Town officials aiming to block congestion pricing.

"“oday is the moment we’ve been waiting for, when we cleared the final bureaucratic hurdle to implement congestion pricing,” MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said in a news conference Friday afternoon in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal. “I’m proud that we’re standing here at a moment when we’re talking about delivering better transit, safer streets, and cleaner air for all, along with reduced congestion.”

On Friday, Katherine Sheridan, presidents of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, announced in a statement that Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials were "pleased to have received formal approval from the Federal Highway Administration for the phase-in feature of the Central Business District Tolling Program."

The announcement came four days after the MTA Board on Monday voted to accept Gov. Kathy Hochul’s reduced toll rate of $9 for most vehicles. In June, weeks before the MTA was set to enact a $15 toll, Hochul ordered the MTA to pause its plan, citing affordability concerns.

A week after Donald Trump, a vocal congestion pricing opponent, was elected to the White House, Hochul lifted her pause, and she and the MTA expedited a plan to get the tolls in place before Trump takes office in January.

The $9 rate will be in place from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Tolls will be discounted by 75% during overnight hours. Drivers of trucks, and those without E-ZPass, will pay a higher rate.

Although federal regulators had already approved congestion pricing in New York, Lieber said the retooled plan had to be sent back to them for "re-evaluation," including of Hochul's proposal to gradually increase tolls until reaching the original $15 rate in 2031.

The MTA still has to complete a state require "public review" that will last about a month, and include online webinars to educate the public on the new tolls. The plan could also be delayed by court rulings in several lawsuits challenging the legality of congestion pricing, the latest of which was filed by the Town of Hempstead Thursday.

The town already filed a lawsuit in May looking to stop the tolls. The new case claims that the MTA failed to adhere to state administrative law by not allowing a 45-day pre-adoption public notice period.

Lieber said MTA officials "always knew we were going to have to deal with" legal challenges right up until implementation of the plan, but added that the transit authority is "confident" that it would prevail in court.

Although Lieber had not read Hempstead's latest legal challenge, he criticized town government officials for “moving backwards” with restrictive policies, including those having to do with developing housing near transit.

“I’m never surprised at what comes out of that bunch,” Lieber said.

Hempstead Supervisor Donald Clavin has argued that the tolls amount to a "regressive tax" that will be a hardship for Hempstead residents who commute into the city. He called Hochul's temporary pause on congestion pricing "a gimmick for [the] election," in an interview with Newsday. "It's just tone deaf." 

Clavin declined to answer Newsday’s questions about whether he thinks it is important to reduce greenhouse gases, but he said that his administration has a "green thumb," citing recycling and other programs.

Gordon Tepper, a spokesman for Gov. Hochul, declined to discuss ongoing litigation, but drew attention to congestion pricing’s potential to fund public transportation.

“Nearly 90% of commuters to Manhattan’s central business district rely on public transit, walking, and biking – and this congestion reduction plan will deliver $15 billion to ensure better, faster transit for millions of working New Yorkers, all while lowering tolls by 40%,” he said in a statement.

Clavin, a Republican in his third term as supervisor, said that opposition to congestion pricing has bipartisan support, citing incoming Long Island Democratic Congresswoman Laura Gillen’s opposition to the plan.

Clavin said his office has reached out to President-elect Donald Trump to seek his help in the matter.

“We wrote President Elect about a week and a half, two weeks ago, expressing our opposition to this, asking him to do whatever he can to stop it,” he said.

Clavin said that the MTA should look elsewhere to solve its financial woes — including by making subways safer and by reining in fare evasion, which costs the MTA about $700 million a year. The MTA has argued that it is making progress on the fare evasion front (https://www.newsday.com/long-island/transportation/lirr-fare-budget-od0wslxz)

Tepper, the Hochul spokesman, disagreed.

“The critics of our more affordable plan have still failed to offer any of their own meaningful solutions for reducing gridlock, improving emergency vehicle response times, and strengthening the transit system that is so vital to New York’s economic future.”

In addition to reducing the number of cars in Manhattan by about 13%, New York's first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan aims to improve air quality, and generate funding for transit. The MTA aims to use the toll revenue to finance about $15 billion of infrastructure projects, including on the Long Island Rail Road.

News of the federal government's final approval of congestion pricing was celebrated by supporters of the plan. Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Regional Plan Association, said in a statement that her group "looks forward to realizing (the congestion pricing plan's) benefits, including better transit, faster commutes, safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists, and clearer air for all."

"With all parties on board and a final agreement signed with the federal government, today marks a major step on our way to less traffic, cleaner air, and robust investments in mass transit," said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for the Riders Alliance, a transit advocacy group, said "while a relative few pay a new toll, 20 million Americans in four states will save time, money, and aggravation."

"Once it starts, congestion pricing will again demonstrate that, together, we can address our common challenges and improve people's lives," Pearlstein.

Despite its support among some transit and environmental advocates, congestion pricing has proven unpopular among many New Yorkers, including nearly three-quarters of Long Island voters, according to a November, 2023 Siena College poll. Still, only one MTA Board member--Nassau County representative David Mack--has opposed the measure.