Deadline Passes and Congestion Pricing Tolls Keep on Clicking . . . For Now
As we were going to press, the next MTA board meeting was slated for May 28. NYS is seeking an injunction on May 27 that would prevent the federal government from retaliating for keeping the tolls live by blocking highway funds earmarked for the state.
| 23 May 2025 | 07:27
A congestion-pricing tolling device looms over Third Avenue at 60th Street for now, but will it remain? US DOT Secretary Sean Duffy wants it removed immediately, as the MTA and NY State are relying on the courts to make sure it remains. Whatever decision is made should come relatively soon. (
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The third federal deadline to take down the congestion-pricing tolls has passed and still the tolls remain. It could come down to a decision by the courts, which in past cases have gone in favor of the tolls.
In the 2025 battle of the bureaucracies, both New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have been in a legislative smackdown over the fate of congestion pricing.
The latest showdown could come down to a decision by a federal district court, whose decisions in past cases have gone in favor of the tolls.
The tolls brought in $159 million during the first quarter of 2025, and almost $60 million in April. The MTA says this money will help to make subways and buses better for New Yorkers. A recent Siena College poll noted a 6 percent uptick in the number of respondents throughout NY State who wanted congestion pricing to remain, although slightly more wanted it eliminated. That difference had narrowed to only 2 percent in the latest poll.
The tolling system that went into operation on Jan. 5 was set up by the MTA to deter motor vehicles south of 60th Street in Manhattan and took 24 years to establish. So far, it does seem to be accomplishing one of its main goals, aside from raising money for the MTA. In the month of April, 76,000 fewer vehicles per day entered Manhattan’s central business district than would have without any tolls, the MTA says.
Back on April 21, Secretary Duffy sent a four-page letter to Hochul explaining that his April 20 deadline had been missed. Extending that deadline to May 21, the US DOT secretary said that if that date were missed, real penalties would be in place, notably lack of funding for road projects in Manhattan and the rest of New York City, even other parts of New York State. Duffy looks at congestion pricing as disproportionate to low- and medium-income drivers, favoring high-income ones, and instead of money collected funding highway projects, the capital budget of the MTA.
What’s next now?
On May 21, the date of the mandated elimination of the tolling, the MTA and the NY State Department of Transportation sent letters to Duffy, noting that rather than his written excoriations, the question of its legality is being routed through the court system.
The MTA letter noted at the time Duffy revoked federal approval for congestion pricing on Feb. 19, there was no notice or due process before that alleged termination, which cannot be done through an exchange of letters. The agency also made the point that congestion pricing is legal and proper and that Duffy lacks authority to terminate or threaten compliance measures to the MTA.
As Straus News Manhattan goes to press, the MTA has requested a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, May 27, in the US District Court -Southern District of New York to temporarily block the US Department of Transportation (DOT) from going through with its threats to cut off funding and halt approvals for future construction projects in Manhattan while the legal fight over congestion pricing plays out. If granted, the federal government would not be able to punish the MTA for keeping the cameras on until the court makes a final decision in the case.
Here in Manhattan, traffic is down, vehicular speeds are slightly faster, noise complaints are down, buses are moving a little quicker with fewer accidents and injuries for vehicles. The future of congestion pricing is destined to be determined sooner rather than later.