New Jersey
Did New Jersey just try to nudge a judge for a congestion pricing decision?
While one lawsuit seeking to force the start of New York’s $15 congestion fee to enter lower Manhattan is moving forward, an attorney in New Jersey’s separate case to stop the fee has nudged a judge for a ruling.
Attorney Randy Mastro wrote U.S. District Court Senior Judge Leo M. Gordon on Friday informing him that a potential decision in a New York Superior Court case challenging New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s indefinite pause of the June 30 congestion pricing plan would mean the tolling plan could start.
And that affects New Jersey’s suit, filed in July 2023, that was the subject of oral arguments in Newark in April. New Jersey’s suit seeks to overturn federal approvals that allowed congestion pricing to proceed. At the end of those hearings, Gordon said he planned to render a decision before the June 30 start date, but Hochul’s unexpected announcement bought some time.