New Jersey
Companies could easily flee NY for NJ over new congestion toll: senator
Companies might easily flee New York for New Jersey if they find that the new congestion pricing toll in Midtown is hurting their business and workers too much, Garden State Sen. George Helmy said Sunday.
The $9 charge for cars and up to nearly $22 for trucks is expected to have an outsized effect on commuting New Jerseyans and firms that do business in Manhattan, Helmy said on CBS New York’s “The Point with Marcia Kramer.”
The senator said the toll — which proponents claim will cut traffic and fund the perennially cash-strapped public transit Metropolitan Transportation Authority — might cause some New York businesses to move across the Hudson, where workers and customers won’t have to fork over the extra cash.
“You’ve seen over the last two years more and more New York City-based organizations, including business groups, say that this is bad for business and bad for working families in the city,” Helmy said.
“A lot of the employees who come to the city every day are New Jerseyans, mostly north New Jerseyans, or [they] live in our shore communities,” the senator said.
“And if they can get [their] businesses to move into Jersey City or Hoboken, where we’re already seeing some of that influx, I think it’s going to be good for New Jersey,” he said.
But he reiterated that congestion pricing as a whole is “bad for New Jersey, and it’s bad for the city.”
Several Garden State officials, including Gov. Phil Murphy, Rep. Josh Gottheimer and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, have called the new tolls a mistake.
“This plan is a tax on New Jersey families meant to force New Jerseyans to pay for MTA upgrades — all without getting a cent back for NJ TRANSIT,” said Sherrill, who along with Gottheimer is running to replace Murphy next year.
“Make no mistake: New Jersey will not sit back and take it quietly as New York uses our commuters as a meal ticket for the MTA,” she said.
There are already nearly a dozen lawsuits challenging the pricey plan, which recently cleared a key legislative hurdle and is set to start Jan. 5, CBS said.
Earlier this month, lawyers for the New Jersey governor urged a Newark federal judge to rule on one of the biggest lawsuits aimed at nixing congestion pricing — a plan that Hochul proposed, then paused before the election, then moved ahead on again right afterward.
“I have consistently expressed openness to a form of congestion pricing that meaningfully protects the environment and does not put unfair burdens upon hardworking New Jersey commuters.” Murphy has said about the toll. “Today’s plan woefully fails that test.”
An alleged drunk, wrong-way driver was arrested following a crash on Interstate 80 in Warren County, officials said.
Robert Felegi was driving a pickup truck west in the eastbound lanes in Knowlton when he crashed head-on into a New Jersey State Trooper’s vehicle near milepost 1.4 around midnight Tuesday, State Police said.
The trooper had emergency lights and sirens activated while trying to alert motorists of a hazard ahead, authorities said.
The trooper suffered minor injuries, while Felegi was not hurt.
Felegi, 67, of Middleport, Pennsylvania, was charged with assault by auto and driving under the influence.
He was brought to the Warren County jail ahead of a detention hearing. An attorney for Felegi is not listed in court records.
investigation, and no additional information is available.
TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) — New Jersey casino workers, who are pushing to permanently ban smoking in their workplaces, held a rally in Trenton on Monday.
A hearing was held to discuss a lawsuit that aims to close the smoking loophole in the Garden State.
For years, casino workers have been pursuing protections against secondhand smoke in their workplaces.
RELATED | Judge allows smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, dealing blow to workers
New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act largely bans indoor smoking, but casinos have a long-standing exemption.
The lawsuit filed last April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos.
In August 2024, a judge ruled in favor of the casinos to allow smoking to continue.
“Casino workers are expected to clock in to work every day despite inevitably facing a toxic environment that could cause countless health issues, including cancer, heart disease, and asthma,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer representing Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and the UAW on Monday.
“We’re asking the court to find the exemption in New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act unconstitutional and void it immediately. We hope this case will serve as a precedent for casinos across the country to close their smoking loopholes and stop poisoning their workers,” added Smith.
The casinos have warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling revenue and taxes could be lost if smoking was banned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A teenager was shot to death in Jersey City, a woman was killed in a fiery crash with a dump truck in Ocean County, and a man is in critical condition after an SUV hit him in a Princeton crosswalk.
Here are the headlines from the weekend in New Jersey you may have missed.
Teen Shot Dead In Jersey City Apartment, Prosecutor Says
A 16-year-old boy was found shot to death in Jersey City on Friday night, prosecutors said.
Woman Killed In Fiery Head-On Dump Truck Crash In Ocean County
A woman was killed Friday when her van hit a dump truck head-on in Jackson and burst into flames, Jackson police said.
Evelin Villanueva-Detejeda, 43, of Perth Amboy, was killed in the crash that happened about 2 p.m. on Toms River Road (Route 571) near Osprey Place, Sgt. Edward Travisano said.
Six people sustained minor injuries in the collision late Friday afternoon, according to State Police Tpr. Christopher Postorino.
Read more: 11-Vehicle Crash, Overturned Truck Shut Down Turnpike In South Jersey: Police
NJ College Student Abducted From Campus, Sexually Assaulted By Armed Man, Police Say
A Union County man is facing a slew of charges after kidnapping a woman, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Akram Elsayed, 28, of Roselle, has been arrested after an investigation found that he’d kidnapped a woman and handcuffed her to the door of a car, police said.
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