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The decision in a lawsuit brought by the State of New Jersey prompted a dispute between New York and New Jersey over whether the plan to toll drivers could start on Sunday.
Dec. 30, 2024Updated 7:38 p.m. ET
A federal judge on Monday found that New York had largely taken the necessary steps to enact a plan to toll drivers entering the heart of Manhattan, but ordered federal transportation officials to review and further explain some aspects of the program.
Following the long-anticipated ruling in a lawsuit filed by the State of New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will oversee the program, known as congestion pricing, said in a statement that it would go ahead with implementing it on Sunday.
But Randy Mastro, a lawyer representing New Jersey, said that the M.T.A. could not proceed, insisting that the ruling actually blocked the plan.
He said that the judge had determined that the Federal Highway Administration “acted arbitrarily and capriciously in approving the M.T.A.’s plan,” and that “more consideration is needed before the current congestion pricing proposal may take effect.”
The 72-page decision from Judge Leo M. Gordon in U.S. District Court in New Jersey does not appear to explicitly state whether the program should proceed while the federal authorities address his concerns.
The lawsuit was among the last major obstacles to congestion pricing. New Jersey officials have sought to stop the plan, arguing that federal transportation officials allowed New York to move forward with it without adequately assessing its possible environmental effects on their state.
