A judge allows lawsuits challenging Hochul's pause on congestion pricing to proceed

After denying Governor Kathy Hochul's request to dismiss the cases, a judge has authorized the continuation of two lawsuits that challenge her decision to halt congestion pricing.

On Friday, Justice Arthur Engoron of the Manhattan Supreme Court determined that the governor's team had failed to meet the requirement to dismiss the cases, as AMNY reported.

This opens the door for those attempting to reverse the governor's "temporary pause," which is now approaching its fourth month, to make a more serious case that Hochul's actions were illegal.

This is the same judge who presided over the case of former President Donald Trump's trial, which was decided earlier this year.

From the Plaintiffs

“Governor Hochul attempted to shut the courthouse doors to New Yorkers who are concerned about the air we breathe, the vehicles crowding our streets, our underfunded public transit, and the future of our planet,” said Dror Ladin, senior attorney at Earthjustice representing some of the plaintiffs.

“The judge rejected the Governor’s effort to shield her disastrous decision to block congestion pricing and confirmed that her decisions are not above the law.”

Her last-minute decision to temporarily halt congestion charging has been challenged in two lawsuits filed against her in state court.

Most drivers would have been required to pay a $15 toll to access lower Manhattan under the initiative, which was supposed to launch on June 30 and finance MTA capital improvements.

More on the Suits

In one of the lawsuits, the City Club of New York asserts that the pause goes against the initial 2019 statute that mandated a congestion pricing program to finance capital improvements to the deteriorating MTA system. These improvements include modernizing the system's antiquated signal system and increasing the number of accessible subway stations.

The other lawsuit was brought by the Riders Alliance, Sierra Club, and New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. They claim that the program's halt violates environmental laws in New York. The program was supposed to drastically cut down on car traffic in Manhattan's CBD and lead to small reductions in pollution across the New York area.

The judge authorized Hochul to argue against both lawsuits on the same court date, as they were organized together.

Engoron—the state's infamous civil case presided over by Schoenfeld—did not buy explanations for why the transportation commissioner was refusing to sign the final federal document that would implement congestion pricing.