\n\t\t\t\tA federal judge has blocked efforts by the Donald Trump administration to halt New York\u2019s congestion charge\u2014 the first policy of its kind in the United States\u2014introduced to reduce traffic in the city\u2019s most crowded districts and generate funding to modernize its aging transit system.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tOn March 3, US District Judge Lewis Liman ruled that the Department of Transportation lacked the authority to unilaterally revoke approval for the $9 toll, which had originally been authorized during Joe Biden\u2019s presidency.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tThe court sided with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which argued that the department\u2019s decision to rescind its approval was \u201carbitrary and capricious\u201d, as the agency failed to provide an adequate explanation for its actions.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tIn a 149-page ruling, Liman noted that the congestion pricing law had been passed by the New York State legislature, signed by the governor, and had received all required federal approvals before the program was launched.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\u201cThe democratic process worked,\u201d the judge wrote, while emphasizing that the decision does not prevent future attempts by Donald Trump and other opponents of the program to seek its cancellation. The congestion charge took effect on January 5, 2025.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tNew York Governor Kathy Hochul said the court\u2019s decision confirms the success of the program, which she described as a \u201chistoric initiative\u201d that has already delivered \u201csignificant benefits\u201d in its first year\u2014including reduced traffic congestion and the creation of critically needed funding for public transit.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\u201cThe judge\u2019s decision makes one thing clear: Donald Trump\u2019s unlawful attempts to trample his home state\u2019s right to self-governance have suffered a crushing defeat,\u201d the Democrat said. \u201cCongestion pricing is legal, it works, and it is here to stay.\u201d\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tRepresentatives of the Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tThe congestion charge in New York applies to most vehicles entering Manhattan south of Central Park.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tThe fee varies depending on the type of vehicle and the time of day and is added to existing tolls for bridges and tunnels leading into Manhattan, though it averages about $9.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tSimilar congestion-pricing systems\u2014designed to curb air pollution and encourage the use of public transport\u2014have long operated in several global cities, including London, Stockholm, Milan, and Singapore. The United States had not previously implemented such schemes.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tDonald Trump\u2014whose Trump Tower and other properties he owns lie within the zone affected by the charge\u2014has opposed the initiative.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tDuring the presidential campaign, he pledged to scrap New York\u2019s plan immediately after taking office. In February, his transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, revoked the federal approval required to impose the charge.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tAt the time, Duffy described the fee as \u201ca slap in the face to working-class Americans and small business owners\u201d and threatened to strip New York of federal funding for transportation projects if the program was not halted.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tLiman temporarily barred the administration from carrying out those threats pending a final ruling. The judge had earlier also dismissed several lawsuits against the program filed by local opponents\u2014including the governor of New Jersey, the New York teachers\u2019 union, a trucking association, and leaders of suburban municipalities.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tHochul herself initially approached the initiative with caution\u2014the project had been developed long before she took office as governor. In 2024, she paused its launch, citing economic risks, but later agreed to implement the program after the fee was reduced from $15 to $9.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tIn January, when the program marked its first year in operation, Hochul\u2014who is facing re-election\u2014together with MTA leadership presented data on its results.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tAccording to the latest MTA report, since the charge was introduced, 27 million fewer cars have entered central Manhattan. That has led to a 22% drop in air pollution and faster trips for those who continue to drive and pay the fee\u2014average travel time has fallen by 23%.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tThe program has also generated more than $550 million in revenue for the region\u2019s chronically underfunded transit system\u2014exceeding initial forecasts, MTA officials said.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tAccording to the agency, since the fee was introduced, sales tax revenues have increased, the number of leased office spaces has risen, and visitor traffic within the charging zone has grown\u2014undermining concerns that the policy might harm the city\u2019s economy.\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\u201cTraffic has declined, business activity has picked up, and we are directing funds into critical investments in the transit system that carries millions of people every day,\u201d MTA chairman Janno Lieber said on Tuesday. \u201cNew York is winning.\u201d\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A federal judge has blocked efforts by the Donald Trump administration to halt New York\u2019s congestion charge\u2014 the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,63615,84,83,9,24,63616,63],"class_list":["post-152775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-congestion-charge","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-traffic-reduction","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}