NYC congestion pricing plan survives pause attempts from Rockland, Orange counties and teachers' union, other groups

The MTA’s congestion pricing plan cleared legal barriers Monday as judges in two federal courts rejected efforts to prevent the $9 toll from going into effect Jan. 5.

District judges in Manhattan and White Plains denied requests by several groups and two counties seeking to have the plan paused while lawsuits proceed in court.

Decisions in other cases, including a state law challenge filed by Hempstead Town, could still halt the plan before it is scheduled to begin.

John McCarthy, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's chief of policy and external affairs, said in a statement that the decisions by the courts speak to the extensive way the tolling program was studied.

“We are gratified by the decisions from these courts,” McCarthy said.

In the Manhattan decision, U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman wrote that no factor in arguments heard Friday weighed in favor of a preliminary injunction.

“Plaintiffs fail to establish a likelihood of success on the merits for any claim, do not show that they would be irreparably injured absent an injunction, and do not show that the balance of the equities and the public interest support an injunction,” Liman wrote of the relief sought by entities including a citizens' group and unions representing truckers and teachers.

Liman’s decision was followed by a similar ruling from U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel in White Plains denying injunctions sought by Orange and Rockland counties. Those counties had argued the plan unfairly forces New York City commuters to use the limited modes of public transportation offered to them.

The first-in-the-nation plan gained formal approval from the Federal Highway Administration last month after the MTA Board approved Gov. Kathy Hochul’s reduction of the previously proposed $15 toll. Hochul had paused the MTA’s plan in June, citing affordability concerns, before negotiating with the MTA on a new rate. She and the MTA expedited a plan to get the tolls in place before President-elect Donald Trump, a critic of the plan, takes office on Jan. 20.

The $9 rate for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan 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 an E-ZPass will pay a higher rate.

Hempstead Town’s case argues the MTA failed to adhere to state administrative law by not allowing a 45-day pre-adoption public notice period when it decided on the lower toll.

Hempstead Supervisor Donald X. Clavin Jr., a Republican, has argued the tolls amount to a "regressive tax" that will be a hardship for town residents who commute into the city.

A federal judge in New Jersey is also considering a request for the plan to undergo additional environmental review in yet another pending decision that could stop the tolling program before Jan. 5.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.