A coalition of environmental and transit groups have filed lawsuits against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul over her decision to indefinitely pause a tolling program that charged drivers entering and leaving Manhattan south of 60th Street. Now, a Manhattan judge has ruled that the cases can proceed.
Judge Arthur Engoron questioned whether it was within Hochul’s authority to pause the plan in the first place.
One of the lawsuits filed against Hochul alleged the pause violated the Traffic Mobility Act passed in 2019, which allowed the MTA to establish a tolling program in Manhattan’s Central Business District.
Hochul’s last-minute pausing of the tolling program has delayed the MTA’s improvement plans, such as improving accessibility in over 20 train stations in the city.
With the MTA’s $65 billion, five-year plan approved late last week, Hochul and state lawmakers have not yet addressed how it will be funded or how the MTA will make up the $15 billion that the tolling program was supposed to bring in.
