By Hank Russell
A New York judge dealt a blow to the Trump administration when he issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the federal government, forbidding them from punishing New York State over the congestion pricing program. The TRO is in effect until June 9.
On May 27, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman ruled against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which sought to withhold federal funding from the state if Governor Kathy Hochul continued with charging commuters to travel below 60th Street in Manhattan.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, President Donald Trump told Hochul that she initially had until March 21 to end the Central Business District Tolling Program (also known as the congestion pricing program). But, Hochul said she will dig in her heels and has no intention of shutting it down.
The Trump administration later changed its mind and extended the deadline by another 30 days, LILP previously reported. But Hochul was given until May 21 to stop the cordon pricing program.
“Judge Liman’s temporary restraining order is a massive victory for New York commuters, vindicating our right as a State to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets,” Hochul said in a statement. “New Yorkers deserve to control our own traffic patterns, keep gridlock off our streets and protect our clean air. We need to make the massive investments necessary to support our transit system and prevent it from falling into disarray and disrepair. Congestion pricing is the right solution to get us there.”
After the judge’s decision, Janno Lieber, chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) held a brief press conference outside the courthouse. He noted that Liman presided over every congestion pricing case and ruled that “congestion pricing is legitimate and legal.” Lieber said.
According to Lieber, Liman called for both parties to “move fast” on the briefing schedule and producing evidence, “but that has been delayed by the federal government. In the meantime, he said he doesn’t want the federal government to engage in punitive actions to try to coerce the state of New York and the MTA to eliminate congestion pricing.”
Lieber also praised Liman for upholding the state’s sovereignty. “One of the things that a lot of people have been put off by is the federal government stepping in and telling them how to deal with their traffic problem.” He also echoed Hochul’s sentiments, calling the judge’s ruling “good news for the state” and “good news for New Yorkers benefitting from congestion pricing.”
LILP reached out to the DOT for comment. An agency spokesperson issued the following statement: “The judge’s ruling today was not on the merits of our case against Hochul’s class warfare, but rather a temporary pause to have more time to reach a decision. Enforcement actions for noncompliance were merely under consideration, and we will comply with the judge’s request to hold. We look forward to making our case in court against Hochul’s illegal tolls as we work to protect working-class Americans from being unfairly charged to go to work, see their families, or visit the city.”