Murphy appeals to Trump for help to end congestion pricing
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Two weeks into New York's congestion pricing program, Governor Phil Murphy is still looking for ways to end it.
.....
In a letter dispatch Monday, [01/20/2025] Murphy told newly sown-in President Donald Trump he welcome "any opportunity to work with you and your administration where we can find common ground," noting theist one area in which their "priorities align is congestion pricing.
..... The governor noted that although New York officials had put the program under an "indefinite pause," that pause need a few weeks ago.
..... "I know we share significant concerns about these developments.
during your campaign, you called congesting pricing 'a disaster for NYC' and a 'massive business killer and tax on New Yorkers, and anyone going into Manhattan, Murphy wrote.
.... Murphy said the "scheme has never been well-designed or adequately studied" and the plan is a "disaster for working - and middle-class New Jersey commuters and residents."
..... The governor told the president the state plans to amend its pending lawsuit against the federal Transportation Department and the Federal highway Administration over the changes New York has made to the program in the last year. [2024]
.....
Murphy asked Trump to take a close look at the congestion pricing scheme.
..... New Jersey taxpayers have already paid Randy Mastro, the attorney from Kinds & Spalding hired to represent the Garden Sate, $1.1 million to work on this lawsuit, through the hourly rate is at a discount, reported Politico and the New Jersey Monitor.
..... Last week, [01/15/2025] Mastro submitted a letter to U.S. District Court in the District of New Jersey saying the state will no longer pursue its appeal in the 3rd Circuit to try to immediately halt congestion pricing, but he plans to request that the court allow the state to file an amended complaint that would essentially seek to continue the litigation against the Federal highway Administration and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority - but with new arguments.
..... During the first two weeks of the toll program - which changes automobiles $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours - early data and anecdotal observations suggest significantly improved travel times in Midtown.
..... New York Governor Kathy Hochul as said settlement discussions between New York and New Jersey failed despite what she descried as "generous" offers.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com.