The U.S. Department of Transportation is considering retroactively revoking the federal government's approval of New York City's congestion pricing roll, The New York Times reported Thursday.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the DOT is discussing whether to remove a key federal authorization that the tolling plan received from the Biden administration. That move is likely to ignite legal battles between federal and state authorities that could stop the program.
The issue of congestion pricing has divided Democrats, with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushing the measure and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy opposing it calling the program "a disaster."
Murphy has urged President Donald Trump to work to eliminate the tolls. Marc Molinaro, who is speculated to be Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Transit Administration, has been an outspoken opponent of the tolls. Trump and Hochul have spoken twice in the past month according to insiders yet the topic of their discussions is unknown.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., another GOP critic of the tax, suggested that Trump’s DOT, through the Federal Highway Administration, could "potentially reverse the Biden administration's rubber-stamping of the program."
The program could be withdrawn on the grounds that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) did not submit a full environmental impact statement evaluating the program’s long-term effects on air quality outside the congestion zone. Under the law, such a statement is required by federal authorities yet the Biden administration ignored that mandate and accepted the MTA's truncated assessment instead.
Yet any such move will need to wait until Trump gets his critical personnel in place, notably Molinaro and recently confirmed Sean Duffy, whom Trump chose to lead the Department of Transportation.
"Once those positions are filled," Malliotakis told the New York Post, "we can get to work."
In January, New York City debuted its long-debated plan to charge most motorists $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street in effort to reduce traffic congestion. Earlier in the month, the MTA, which oversees congestion pricing, released data showing that traffic has declined first week as tens of thousands of fewer vehicles traveled into the congestion zone.
The program isn't popular in the suburbs of New York where 60% oppose the governor's signature legislation, according to a December survey from Siena College. Yet as recently as last week, Hochul remains steadfast in her commitment saying, that "what I want to do for the suburbs — the Hudson Valley — is to shave time off the commute," and reminding voters that she reduce the pricing from $15 to $9.
Last week, Molinaro voiced his support in reversing Hochul’s legislation posting, "There is a clear path to undoing the State's cash grab. The MTA is in desperate need of reform, transparency & accountability. Hardworking NYers & New Jerseyans aren’t an ATM for this bloated bureaucracy. Safety, accountability, accessibility & efficiency first!"
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