New York is still “on notice” to end congestion pricing in two weeks, federal attorneys said Wednesday – but it’s unclear what the Trump administration would do if the deadline is ignored.
An attorney for the administration doubled down on the April deadline at the first pretrial conference in a lawsuit between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and federal government over the controversial $9 toll to enter Midtown Manhattan.
“The Department of Transportation maintains the position that New York City should stop charging tolls by April 20,” said assistant US attorney Dominika Tarczynska.
What happens if the congestion cameras are still active and collecting tolls after April 20 is at Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s discretion, and Tarczynska said that could mean anything — or possibly nothing.
“The secretary, however, is still evaluating what [the Department of Transportation’s] options are if New York City does not comply, and there has been no final decision as to what, if anything, will occur on April 20,” Tarczynska told federal judge Lewis J. Liman on Wednesday in the remote hearing.
That comment — plus a fuming social media post from a “rapid response” DOT social media account on Tuesday — puts to rest widespread reports that a proposed trial schedule constituted a deal between New York and the Trump administration on the tolling program.
In the April 4 joint letter submitted by all parties in the suit, the US attorneys said they did not have plans “at present” to submit any preliminary motions to halt the program.
While the trial schedule could drag the trial until October, there was no explicit agreement in the letter regarding the program remaining in place, nor did the feds agree to withhold injunctive actions in court.
The MTA’s attorney, Roberta Ann Kaplan, said that unless the judge issued an order, the cameras will remain on.
“Congestion pricing is in effect,” she said. “We believe it’s working.”
After making the trial schedule official, the told the attorneys how he was “looking forward to a professional experience.”
President Trump had railed against congestion pricing on the campaign trail last year before the new program was rolled out in January in a revenue-generating move for the MTA that state officials said would help reduce congestion and boost public transportation in the crowded Big Apple.
The Trump administration announced it was retroactively rescinding federal approval for the plan, with Duffy setting a March 21 deadline for Gov. Kathy Hochul to deactivate the toll-collecting cameras.
But when the first deadline on March 21 came and went, Duffy gave Hochul 30 more days to comply.