Another court rejects NJ's last-ditch effort to block Manhattan congestion pricing

A federal court Saturday rejected New Jersey’s last-minute, last-ditch effort to stop congestion pricing from taking effect. The tolls to enter Manhattan below 60th Street begin Sunday.

The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied New Jersey’s request for a restraining order Saturday, less than a day after U.S. Senior Judge Leo Gordon clarified an earlier ruling of his own and denied New Jersey’s attempt to delay the tolls.

“We are disappointed that the courts are allowing congestion pricing to take effect tomorrow despite agreeing that its approval violated the law and arbitrarily shortchanged New Jersey residents,” Natalie Hamilton, a spokesperson for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, said. “We will continue fighting against this unfair and unpopular scheme.”

Her brief statement didn’t address what if any next steps New Jersey might pursue.

Under the congestion pricing program, passenger vehicles with E-ZPass will pay a base price of $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Overnight, the toll is $2.25. The toll is higher for commercial vehicles, and lower for motorcycles. A full breakdown of exemptions and fees is here.

The program is expected to raise about $500 million annually for MTA infrastructure improvements and upgrades.

Gordon had ruled earlier that MTA and the Federal Highway Administration needed to provide more information about how they would address pollution and traffic in New Jersey as traffic patterns are reshaped by the tools. Attorney Randy Mastro, representing New Jersey, argued that meant New York couldn’t move ahead with the toll until that was done — an analysis Gordon ultimately rejected.

The MTA and federal officials have maintained New Jersey overestimates the environmental impacts of congestion pricing.

With hours to go before the toll was set to take effect, MTA Chair Janno Lieber joined advocates and top deputies from the transit agency Saturday evening to unveil a sign advising southbound drivers on Broadway of the new charge. The signs tell drivers they’re in the “Congestion Relief Zone,” with a $9 charge for E-ZPass drivers and a higher rate for tolls by mail.

"We're doing something that is for our kids. We're doing something that proves that the city is not paralyzed to deal with the challenges,” he said. “We're doing something that's about cleaner air and safer streets and less traffic and better transit."

Rep. Jerry Nadler, whose district includes central Manhattan, said that in other cities where congestion pricing had been implemented, the programs ultimately became popular.

“ It has always started off with its critics. It has always become almost universally popular as people see how successful it is, and all the doubts are erased. And that will happen here, too,” he said.

Lieber said that MTA staff had already been monitoring drivers passing under its gantries for weeks to make sure the systems were running smoothly. He said that drivers who want to make sure they’re getting the lowest rates should make sure their E-ZPass accounts are in order and that their license plates are linked to their accounts.

The MTA and Federal Highway Administration must provide the court with more information about pollution mitigation by February, after incoming President Donald Trump takes office. Trump has criticized the congestion pricing program, which opponents hoped gave them an opening to keep it from starting.

In its order Saturday, the Third Circuit said it expresses “no view on the merits” of New Jersey’s case but “trusts the District Court and agency to move the remainder of this case along speedily.”

Includes previous reporting by Jon Campbell and Stephen Nessen. This story has been updated to include more information about an MTA event Saturday. A previous version of the story incorrectly described when the latest ruling took place in a sub-headline.