State and federal officials have agreed to a court timeline that keeps the tolls in place for several months. The federal Transportation Department said it was still fighting to end the program.
State and federal officials have agreed to a court timeline that keeps the tolls in place for several months. The federal Transportation Department said it was still fighting to end the program.
State and federal officials have agreed to a court timeline that keeps the tolls in place for several months. The federal Transportation Department said it was still fighting to end the program.
Good morning. It’s Wednesday. Today we’ll look at why congestion pricing will continue into the fall, if not longer. We’ll also get details on the Trump administration’s move to take away $325 million in grants to New York State, much of which would have gone toward flood mitigation in New York City.
What will happen to congestion pricing now that state and federal officials have agreed to a court timeline that will probably keep it going into the fall, if not somewhat longer?
Will the Trump administration, which has raised the prospect of cutting funding for mass transit projects in New York State, find a new way to pressure Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to stop charging drivers entering the “congestion relief zone” south of 60th Street in Manhattan?
The answers are not clear.
Some transit watchers say the agreement on a timeline is a win-win for the transit agency and for the Trump administration. As long as litigation is underway in the case — which was brought by the M.T.A. — the agency can collect tolls and use the revenue to borrow more. And the Trump administration can continue to say it is fighting congestion pricing.
One of Trump’s most prominent antagonists will be fighting for the M.T.A. Roberta Kaplan, who represented the writer E. Jean Carroll in sexual assault and defamation lawsuits against Trump, is representing the transit agency and signed the letter that laid out the timeline.