It was back to court again for the MTA Wednesday, arguing that U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not have the authority to terminate congestion pricing.

“This case is what Gov. Hochul was talking about. Do we have a democracy, or do we have a king? The government’s position is they can rescind any agreement, any approval at any time if the president or the secretary of transportation wants. That’s a scary position. That means the government’s commitments will be worthless,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.

What You Need To Know

  • It was back to court again for the MTA Wednesday, arguing that U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not have the authority to terminate congestion pricing
  • U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter last February telling the state and MTA to end congestion pricing by the end of March, threatening funding to other transportation projects in New York if they didn’t comply

  • In May, the judge in this case, Louis Liman, granted a preliminary injunction to prevent the feds from retaliation. Their argument then was that the administration’s changed priorities give them the authority to cancel the agreement

  • MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber believes they will win this case. The MTA has already prevailed in about 10 cases, including four decided by the same judge in this case

This lawsuit was triggered by a social media post last February from President Donald Trump that declared “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”

That came just as Duffy sent a letter telling the state and MTA to end congestion pricing by the end of March, threatening funding to other transportation projects in New York if they didn’t comply. That was followed by two more threatening letters.

In May, the judge in this case, Louis Liman, granted a preliminary injunction to prevent the feds from retaliation. Their argument then was that the administration’s changed priorities give them the authority to cancel the agreement.

Their argument Wednesday was more technical.

“There’s a contract for the purpose of deciding which credit goes to, but they want to keep arguing there’s no contract. That’s their position,” Lieber said.

Lieber believes they will win this case. The MTA has already prevailed in about 10 cases, including four decided by the same judge in this case.

The MTA has already started on projects funded by congestion pricing. Last month, it awarded the contract for the signal modernization of the A and C in Brooklyn and the contract for tunnel boring the extension of the Second Avenue Subway.

Lieber says congestion pricing has already delivered.

“Less congestion, faster travel, better air quality, safer streets. All of the promises that were looked at in the original analysis by DOT have actually come true,” he said.

The judge requested supplemental briefings from both sides by next Friday, but there’s no word on when he could make a decision.

In a statement, USDOT said Secretary Duffy terminated congestion pricing to help New Yorkers and, “We are hopeful the court will permit DOT to continue its work to protect hard-working citizens.”