A judge on Wednesday blocked the U.S. Transportation Department from withholding federal funding from New York as the Trump administration seeks to stop Manhattan's congestion pricing program. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman, who a day earlier had issued a temporary restraining order, issued a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from withholding approval of or funding for New York projects.
Liman said in his 109-page opinion that the Transportation Department had "challenged Plaintiffs to a game of chicken," saying New York could either end the program or "else may brace for impact and prepare to suffer the effects" of government compliance measures.
The program charges most passenger vehicles $9 during peak periods to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.
The Trump administration on February 19 rescinded federal approval of the program designed to reduce traffic and raise money to upgrade aging subway and bus systems. (
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