Vehicles sit in a line of traffic in Times Square in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., June 27, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
NEW YORK: New York’s plan to charge drivers entering midtown Manhattan is a “brazen money grab,” New Jersey’s senior US senator said after the Garden State sued to block the congestion pricing proposal.
The litigation threatens to delay a second-quarter start to the plan, under which drivers using E-ZPass who enter the city south of 60th Street could pay as much as US$23 (RM105).
The tolling programme got final approval last month from the Federal Highway Administration, or FHWA, which determined it would have no significant environmental impact.
In a lawsuit filed last Friday in federal court in Newark, the state sued the FHWA and the US Department of Transportation, claiming the US approval was ill-considered and missed numerous risks to the state’s residents.
It claimed that FHWA ignored the fact that the new tolls would change commuting patterns, redirecting traffic that would unfairly burden New Jersey crossings not included in the pricing plan.
“We’ll bear the burdens of congestion pricing while New York City gets the benefits, and that’s not fair,” governor Phil Murphy said at a press conference following the suit, adding that the state’s leaders would fight “tooth and nail” to make sure New Jerseyans are treated fairly.
But his emphatic message was low-key and upbeat compared with that of senator Bob Menendez, who followed him at the podium.
The proposal is “highway robbery,” Menendez said.
“It’s anti middle class, anti small business, anti common sense for communities that call this side of the Hudson home,” he added”
The National Environmental Policy Act, or Nepa, requires US agencies to consider the environmental impact of any major federal project – which includes a city plan that uses federal funds – and conduct an assessment that includes public comment. — Bloomberg
