U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said New York’s congestion pricing policy could cost the state its transportation funding.
In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Duffy said the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) could take action if the state continues its “illegal toll on working families,” including halting FHWA-backed projects and funding. Duffy said safety-related initiatives would be exempt from the funding halts, however.
“President Trump and I will not sit back while Governor Hochul engages in class warfare and prices working-class Americans out of accessing New York City,” Duffy said. “The federal government sends billions to New York—but we won’t foot the bill if Governor Hochul continues to implement an illegal toll to backfill the budget of New York’s failing transit system. We are giving New York one last chance to turn back or prove their actions are not illegal.”
Duffy said the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has 30 days to make their case as to why their non-compliance with Trump’s directives to stop congestion pricing are not illegal. If the policy is not stopped, Duffy said, the agency will stop funding for projects in Manhattan. If the non-compliance of the president’s directive continues, he said, it could jeopardize federal funding for projects throughout New York City, with the possibility that the federal funding freeze could grow to beyond the city’s borders and into the rest of the state.
The U.S. Department of Transportation approved the congestion pricing plan under the Biden Administration, but that approval was stripped away when Trump took office. The administration has said that without its authorization of the plan, the state has no legal basis to continue it.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), North America’s largest transportation network, said it is evaluating its options.
“We have received Secretary Duffy’s letter setting yet another new deadline and are evaluating MTA’s legal options, given that the legal issues raised in the letter are already appropriately before a federal judge,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement. “In the meantime, cameras are staying on, and New Yorkers continue to benefit from the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program – with less traffic, cleaner air, safer streets and a stronger regional economy.”