Hochul: MTA's congestion pricing plan set to begin Sunday following judge's ruling

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the MTA’s congestion pricing plan will go into effect Sunday after a federal judge Monday dismissed most of the issues raised by New Jersey in a lawsuit filed earlier this year — even as an attorney for the Garden State asserted the ruling meant the program cannot proceed.

In a 72-page decision, Judge Leo M. Gordon, based in New Jersey, avoided explicitly prohibiting congestion pricing, which would require motorists to pay a $9 toll to enter much of Manhattan, from proceeding this weekend as scheduled.

"This is a massive win for commuters in both New York and New Jersey," Hochul said in a statement. "Now that the judge has issued his ruling, the program will move forward this weekend with a 40 percent reduction in the originally proposed cost of the toll."

MTA chairman and chief executive Janno Lieber, also in a statement, said: "We are gratified that on virtually every issue, Judge Gordon agreed with the New York federal court and rejected New Jersey’s claim that the Environmental Assessment approved 18 months ago was deficient. Most important, the decision does not interfere with the program’s implementation this coming Sunday, January 5."

Gordon did order the Federal Highway Administration to conduct additional study on the impact of the congestion pricing plan on air quality and other environmental concerns in New Jersey. Gordon’s decision said that an environmental assessment of the plan has not sufficiently explained the tolling program’s effects on New Jersey, or how those would be mitigated.

New Jersey’s lawsuit has been seen by supporters of the tolling plan as a major hurdle. The plan still faces other legal challenges, including a lawsuit filed by the Town of Hempstead. A lawyer representing New Jersey disputed Lieber’s statement that the plan will proceed, saying the judge’s decision halts the tolling program.

"We welcome the court's ruling today in the congestion pricing lawsuit," attorney Randy Mastro said in a statement. "Because of New Jersey's litigation, the judge has ordered a remand, and the MTA therefore cannot proceed. New Jersey remains firmly opposed to any attempt to force through a congestion pricing proposal in the final weeks of the Biden Administration."

Gordon said he is reserving judgment on whether alternative funding options, such as tolls on the East River and Harlem River bridges, were adequately considered. He ordered the Federal Highway Administration to take action on his ruling by Jan. 17.

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.

Hochul had paused the MTA’s plan in June, citing affordability concerns, before negotiating with the agency on a new rate. She and the MTA expedited efforts to get the tolls in place before President-elect Donald Trump, a critic of the plan, takes office Jan. 20.

The congestion pricing plan cleared other legal hurdles last week when federal courts in Manhattan and White Plains denied requests by several groups and two counties to put it on pause while lawsuits proceeded.