New York’s plan to charge drivers to enter Manhattan’s busiest roadways remained on track Tuesday after lawyers met briefly with a federal judge who had considered New Jersey’s request to block the program.
The new $9 toll will be the nation’s first congestion-pricing fee and will start, as planned, on Sunday, according to New York officials.
Less than 24 hours before Tuesday’s abruptly scheduled video conference, the federal judge, Leo M. Gordon of U.S. District Court in New Jersey, had issued a ruling interpreted as a victory by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and by New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul. New York plans to use the revenue from congestion pricing to upgrade public transportation in New York City and the New York suburbs.
The State of New Jersey filed one of several lawsuits that seek to derail the tolling program. But on Monday, Judge Gordon did not order the M.T.A. to halt Sunday’s planned implementation of the program, even as he told federal transportation officials to address outstanding questions he identified about blunting the potential environmental impact to New Jersey residents.
New Jersey officials said they were encouraged by the judge’s request for action by federal transportation officials.
“No matter how they spin it, this isn’t the outcome New York was hoping for from the judge,” said Representative Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat who opposes congestion pricing and is running for governor.
It is still possible for New Jersey to seek an 11th-hour court injunction to temporarily halt the program before Sunday, although a formal appeal would probably have to wait until after Judge Gordon has rendered a final determination. He has ordered lawyers to submit all responses to his request for more information by Feb. 11 — a date that falls after Donald J. Trump, who strongly opposes congestion pricing, is set to be sworn in as president.
Indeed, New Jersey appears to be at least in part trying to run out the clock on the Biden administration, which signed off on the congestion-pricing plan in 2023.
A spokesman for New Jersey’s governor, Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat, refused to comment Tuesday on the ruling. But Randy Mastro, a New York-based lawyer hired to represent New Jersey in the lawsuit, cited President Biden’s waning term.
“New Jersey remains firmly opposed to any attempt to force through a congestion pricing proposal in the final weeks of the Biden administration,” Mr. Mastro said Monday in a statement.
Mr. Mastro did not reply to requests for comment about Tuesday’s conference with Judge Gordon or whether he planned to file any additional legal motions ahead of Sunday’s start date.
Ms. Hochul’s spokesman, Avi Small, also declined to discuss Tuesday’s meeting, but confirmed that “congestion pricing is still going to take effect on Sunday, Jan. 5.”
Eric A. Goldstein, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which supports congestion pricing, said that any additional legal challenges by New Jersey would face significant headwinds.
“At this point, and taking into consideration the previous federal court rulings that have gone against congestion pricing opponents,” Mr. Goldstein said, “it would have to be considered a long shot.”
Judge Gordon, in his decision, repeatedly criticized New Jersey’s representatives for what he described as warping the federal analysis of the tolling plan, noting that their “characterization of the underlying administrative findings is simply incorrect.”
Less than two weeks ago, Ms. Hochul said that New Jersey had rejected what she called “generous” incentives aimed at settling the congestion pricing lawsuit. According to people familiar with the confidential talks, New York’s negotiators offered New Jersey hundreds of millions of dollars and additional toll credits for New Jersey drivers.
Environmental leaders in New Jersey, who support the new tolls as a way to reduce heat-trapping vehicle emissions that are a major cause of climate change, said that Mr. Murphy’s decision to reject New York’s offer may haunt him.
“The question that the governor needs to answer is: What money did he leave on the table?” said John Reichman, a lawyer who helps lead EmpowerNJ, a coalition of more than 120 environmental, community and religious organizations.
“How much money was New York willing to pay to New Jersey Transit to improve public transportation going into Manhattan?” he asked. “That’s money that’s just now lost.”
New Jersey Transit raised its fares in July by 15 percent. Still, widespread delays remain common.
Joe Colangelo, who runs Boxcar Transit, a private commuter bus company that operates between northern New Jersey and New York City, cheered Judge Gordon’s decision and predicted it would eventually prove helpful to New Jersey Transit’s bottom line.
“It will drive people onto the trains,” he said. “It will drive people onto the buses.”
With a lack of reliable public transportation options and an extensive network of highways, New Jersey’s car culture is pervasive. This year, roadway fatalities have soared, climbing 12.5 percent compared with last year to more than 680 deaths — a figure that is significantly higher than in all but two years since 2008, when New Jersey strengthened laws that made it illegal to text while driving.
The increase in deaths comes after a slowdown in traffic enforcement by State Police troopers, who issued roughly 60 percent fewer tickets for offenses including speeding, drunken driving and cellphone use between July 2023 and March 2024. This month, New Jersey’s attorney general appointed Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to lead a criminal investigation into the slowdown.
Mr. Murphy has said that he considered public safety “an issue of the utmost seriousness,” but has also said he remained supportive of State Police leadership.
Even as he has opposed new tolls on New York’s roads, Mr. Murphy has largely avoided vetoing a series of toll increases on New Jersey highways in recent years.
In November, state transportation officials approved a 3 percent toll increase on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike.
The toll hike takes effect on Wednesday.
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