NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) — A judge on Friday denied Gov. Kathy Hochul’s motion to dismiss two lawsuits filed against her indefinite pause of New York City’s congestion pricing plan, which would tax drivers coming into lower Manhattan.
Judge Arthur Engoron made the decision following two hours of arguments in the lawsuits brought by riders and advocates who argue the plan is needed to ease traffic, aid the environment and provide the MTA with needed revenue, while also claiming that Hochul lacks the authority to mandate the pause.
The tolling program was set to begin on June 30, and would have charged most drivers coming into Manhattan below 60th Street a $15 fee, generating an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue.
The pause, announced weeks before congestion pricing’s planned implementation, was criticized by many as a political election year stunt, but defended by Hochul as a move to protect the financial interests of working and middle class commuters in an area still recovering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrew Celli, a lawyer representing the City Club of New York, one of the groups that has sued Hochul, said afterward that the judge’s ruling means the lawsuits will move forward and the governor will have to justify her actions in court.
“What the judge did here is he said that congestion pricing will not be delayed by legal technicalities,” he said outside court. “That’s a huge victory for people that care about the law and people that care about congestion pricing.”
He also presented arguments alleging the governor overstepped the state’s constitution and laws, noting that state lawmakers did not give the governor’s office authority on when the fee would be imposed after it passed in 2019.
Instead, Celli argued, the legislature charged the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which oversees the bridges and tunnels in the NYC area, with making that final decision in order to remove politics from the equation.
“She doesn’t have the discretion,” Celli said.
Alan Schoenfeld, a lawyer representing Hochul and the state Department of Transportation in the lawsuits, said during court that it was “demonstrably false” to suggest that state lawmakers intended to put the tunnel and bridge authority “unilaterally” in charge of congestion pricing, while also arguing that the law recognizes the role of the governor’s office and state DOT in the process.
“Like the majority of New Yorkers, Governor Hochul believes this is not the right time to implement congestion pricing,” a Hochul spokesperson told 1010 WINS. “We can't comment on litigation.”
As arguments were presented in Civic Center, the second lawsuit plantiff, Riders Alliance, held a rally outside the courthouse to advocate for the reinstatement of the congestion pricing plan.
Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, rallied the crowd to drown out a small group of hecklers.
“Do we want less traffic? Do we want [cleaner] air?” she shouted, before affirming “We want better subways, and buses and trains!”
Others at the rally included the managing attorney for the Disability Justice Program, Chris Schuyler, who said that congestion pricing revenue is needed to uphold accessibility projects within the MTA.
“Among the groups most most impacted by the congestion pricing pause are people with disabilities,” Schuyler said.
Mayoral candidate and NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, a vocal advocate for congestion pricing, was also in attendance, and said that the gridlock caused by the UN General Assembly in Manhattan this week shows the clear need for better mass transit in the city.
In a statement Friday afternoon, Lander called the decision “a victory for our broad coalition of transit riders, environmental advocates, and disability justice organizations.”
“Judge Engoron rightfully denied [Governor] Hochul’s motion to dismiss two critical lawsuits to restore congestion pricing,” he continued. “This development is a blow to the governor’s misguided belief that she has the ultimate authority to override an established law and remake it to fit her whims.”