ABC 7 NEWS
July 25, 2024
"NEW YORK (WABC) -- Two new lawsuits were filed Thursday in response to the indefinite pause of congestion pricing in New York City.
The lawsuits aim to force the plan to go into effect after it was paused just three weeks before it was supposed to start on June 30.
Advocacy groups argue Gov. Kathy Hochul acted illegally by pausing the $15 tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan's business district. The fee was projected to generate some $1 billion annually for transit improvements.
Advocates say legislation passed in Albany requires the MTA to carry out the plan.
The first lawsuit, City Club of New York et al v. Hochul, challenges Hochul's authority to single-handedly block implementation of the 2019 MTA Reform and Traffic Mobility Act. That law mandated the design, development, building, and operation of the Central Business District Tolling Program.
'This is a case about democracy," said Andrew Celli of Emery Celli. "It asks whether an executive official can defy the law, ignore the legislature, and upend a decades-long policy-making process because she changed her mind. The obvious answer is no.' "
Photo Credit: Joisey Showaa