NEW YORK — There were major congestion charge developments in New York City on Friday.
New Jersey is suing the federal government to block the process the same day some of the new toll scanners were installed.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is not taking this to heart. He said Friday that he believes the FBI has short-circuited the normal review process and is taking them to court.
“Unfortunately, New York’s proposal will lead to ‘toll shopping,’ with more drivers seeking different routes to avoid paying higher tolls, resulting in more traffic and more pollution,” Murphy said when formally announcing his decision to sue the Federal Highway Administration.
Murphy insisted on New York City’s controversial congestion pricing plan would not only be a financial burden on Jersey drivers entering the city south of 60th Street, but would also negatively impact the environment. He added that they may have missed steps before they got to that point.
“We are particularly disappointed with the lack of a thorough environmental assessment and the lack of mitigation measures for affected communities,” Murphy said. “Their finding that the MTA congestion pricing program will have no significant impact is a mistake.”
Murphy was joined by Senator Bob Menendez and Representative Josh Gottheimer, who support the lawsuit.
“The congestion pricing plan is a no-win, no-lose-and-lose scenario for our state’s families and small businesses that depend on the bridge and tunnels every day,” Menendez said.
The announcement came on the same day some of the city’s new toll scanners were installed.
Some residents wonder why they are built on both sides of the street when they should only pay those who go south, and also wonder why now when they won’t be allowed to charge drivers until next spring.
“They are definitely getting ahead of themselves,” said Upper West Side resident Lauren Mandel. “People will be completely confused because they don’t even know if it’s had an effect, and they’ll go all the way north or all the way south, or other boroughs to get around it, and it’s going to wreak havoc.”
“I don’t think they should have because it might not happen, but there’s a chance it won’t happen. They may have wasted some money,” West Side resident Martha Buckner said.
This week, a panel met to determine how much commuters will be charged to enter the zone. It’s still unclear what the exact prices will be, but sources say somewhere between $9 and $23.
New Yorkers still have mixed feelings about congestion charges.
“It’s just going to move from one place to another and cause more problems for all of us,” said an Upper West Side resident.
“More people should be riding bikes, and there’s no room for cars in Manhattan anyway,” Queens’ Howard Robinson said.
Murphy also said the lawsuit brings him no joy, that he is proud of his relationship with Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams, and that he also wants to reduce traffic to help the environment, but he just doesn’t think congestion charging is the best way to do that.
John Dias
