Congestion Pricing Gets a Stay of Execution—Judge Blocks Trump’s Last-Minute Maneuver

On Tuesday, a federal judge granted a temporary order that prevents the Trump administration from compelling New York to put a stop to its unprecedented congestion pricing scheme, which allows trip charging to remain in effect at least until June 9.

 

The order, written by Judge Lewis J. Liman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, also prohibits the U.S. Transportation Department from withholding funds and approvals for New York transportation projects. This could have been used as leverage to terminate the program. This ruling follows more than four months of threats by the Trump administration to cut off billions in funding to New York absent the ect of no longer charging some drivers a $9 toll to drive south into Manhattan below 60th street during the busiest hours for traffic travel.

 

The MTA, which oversees congestion pricing, argued in court that halting the congestion pricing scheme would cause "irreparable harm" to New York City and its transit systems. Since it began in January, congestion pricing has curtailed vehicle numbers by 13% into the high traffic density of boundaries of central Manhattan while improving revenues tied to mass transit revitalization.

 

The Trump administration's attempts to revoke the federal approval swiftly generated legal intervention, especially by New York City officials who contended the abolishing the congestion pricing program would harm the city due to its detrimental impact on its transit systems and physical curtailing of vehicles entering the city. Judge Liman's order provides a critical lifeline for New York's first-in-the nation congestion pricing program for the city while the relevant matters are still litigated.

 

This is a developing story, and revisions will be made as the details become clearer.

 

Source, The New York Times