Just days before New York City officially launches congestion pricing, a federal court judge issued a split ruling that has both sides claiming victory, causing confusion over whether the new tolling program can proceed.
On Monday, Dec. 30, U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Leo M. Gordon dismissed nearly all of New Jersey’s claims in its lawsuit challenging New York’s congestion pricing program. However, the court did order the federal government to provide further explanation on one question within two weeks.
With the split ruling, both New Jersey and New York are taking a victory lap. Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement that the ruling allows it to proceed with the Sunday, Jan. 5 launch of congestion pricing.
“We’re 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,” Lieber said. “Most important, the decision does not interfere with the program’s scheduled implementation this coming Sunday, Jan. 5.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed that sentiment.
“Despite the best efforts of the State of New Jersey trying to thwart New York’s ability to reduce congestion on our streets while making long-overdue investments in public transit, our position has prevailed in court on nearly every issue,” Hochul said in a statement. “This is a massive win for commuters in both New York and New Jersey. 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.”
However, Randy Mastro, the attorney representing New Jersey in the case, is also claiming victory. In a statement, Mastro suggested that the court’s ruling prevents New York from implementing congestion pricing.
“We welcome the court’s ruling today in the congestion pricing lawsuit,” Mastro said. “Because of New Jersey’s litigation, the judge has ordered a remand, and the MTA therefore cannot proceed with implementing the current congestion pricing proposal on Jan. 5, 2025.”
Nowhere in Judge Gordon’s ruling does he mention another pause of congestion pricing in New York. The order was in response to a motion for summary judgment, not a preliminary injunction.
As of Tuesday, Dec. 31, congestion pricing in New York is expected to proceed on Sunday, Jan. 5. For more information on the program, including pricing structure and discounts, click here.
New Jersey’s lawsuit is one of the last major challenges to New York’s congestion pricing to get severely gutted by a federal court. With the backing of an entire state, it is seen as the most likely of at least nine lawsuits to succeed. Earlier this year, a New York federal district court judge threw out most of the claims in several of those lawsuits. Last week, motions filed in six cases for an injunction on the new tolling program were rejected.
Mitigation efforts need to be addressed
Although the court decided in favor of New York on nearly all claims, it did agree with New Jersey’s argument that the Federal Highway Administration’s mitigation efforts ignored the Garden State.
New Jersey argues in its lawsuit that the final environmental assessment did not include mitigation efforts specific to Bergen County. FHWA did, however, allocate millions of dollars to mitigate adverse effects in the Bronx, despite findings that traffic increases will be greater in Bergen County.
Essentially, New Jersey argues that FHWA acted arbitrarily and capriciously by giving money to the Bronx for mitigation efforts but failed to do so for heavily impacted New Jersey communities.
In its defense, FHWA points out that it satisfied mitigation requirements by dedicating $155 million over five years to mitigate adverse air quality effects. That money does not allocate targeted funding to specific areas. Rather, it is a more general, flexible funding package.
Although the court was persuaded that FHWA did meet mitigation requirements with the $155 million in funding, it also concluded that the agency failed to explain why it was able to dedicate a specific amount to relief in New York while providing no similar targeted funding in impacted areas in New Jersey.
Per the court order, FHWA has until Jan. 17 to further explain and possibly reconsider its “rationale providing for differing levels of mitigation commitments for the Bronx as compared to potentially significantly affected areas in New Jersey and the ultimate mitigation determination.”
New Jersey must respond no later than Jan. 29. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transportation Authority will have until Feb. 11 to file their comments. LL
Credit: Source link
