This week's journey. Who is supposed to shovel the snow next to MTA property? Subway station bathrooms could use toilet seats. NYC Ferry is still suspended due to the all the ice in the water — and more.
Killing congestion pricing is still a top White House priority
The legal fight over congestion pricing has largely fallen out of the spotlight, but a little-noticed development in federal court last week shows it remains a top priority for President Donald Trump.
Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Eric Hamilton was assigned to defend the federal government in a suit brought by the MTA over the agency’s right to impose the $9 base toll to drive below 60th Street in Manhattan . Hamilton’s caseload includes lawsuits at the heart of the Trump administration’s agenda, including its effort to deny birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants, and the president’s authority to deploy the National Guard.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this [congestion pricing] case gets as much attention in the White House as the other high profile cases you mentioned,” said Dan Richman, a Columbia University law professor and former assistant U.S. attorney at the Southern District of New York. “Trump takes a strong interest in what’s happening in New York.”
During his 2024 campaign, Trump vowed to “TERMINATE” congestion pricing. Last February, he declared on social media that “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD” after ordering the U.S. Department of Transportation to revoke federal approval of the tolls.
But the president has so far been unable to make good on his boast. The tolls yielded $562 million in revenue for the MTA last year, which is slated to finance mass transit upgrades. The fees remain in effect, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the tolling “cameras are staying on.”
The feds’ legal war on the tolls has at times been a bumbling, comical affair.
Last April, Southern District of New York attorneys mistakenly published internal correspondence detailing a list of flaws in the federal government’s legal strategy to kill congestion pricing. The Trump administration speculated the move was a deliberate act of sabotage.
Hamilton’s appointment to the congestion pricing case last week came after one of the Southern District attorneys assigned to the case resigned.
“If he sent anybody up here that high, that means he really, really wants to win and he doesn’t trust the line people,” said Arthur Schwartz, a New York-based attorney who has litigated transportation lawsuits.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai did not respond to questions about Hamilton’s assignment to the case, but said the president still seeks to end the tolling program.
“President Trump has been clear: Congestion pricing is a disaster and he will stand up for working-class New Yorkers to put an end to it,” Desai wrote in a statement. “The Trump administration is committed to saving New York from this out-of-touch, cash-grab policy that was enacted by the Radical Left Democrats.”
So far, the Department of Justice’s arguments against congestion pricing look like a legal Hail Mary. A Manhattan federal judge has already allowed the MTA to continue collecting the tolls while the case moves forward, and barred the U.S. DOT from withholding funding from New York in retaliation.
During his first appearance in Manhattan federal court as part of the case last week, Hamilton reiterated arguments that have already been met with skepticism from U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman. Hamilton said the feds signed off on congestion pricing as a pilot program — and the agreement is a contract the federal government has the authority to terminate.
Richman said Manhattan federal judges — many of whom are former attorneys from the independent-minded Southern District of New York — are generally skeptical of government lawyers sent up from Washington, D.C.
“The government may take some hits for doing that,” Richman said.
Stephen Nessen contributed reporting to this story.
Curious Commuter
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“Who's responsible for shoveling the sidewalks next to MTA property? I live on the same block as the elevated Franklin Avenue shuttle, and no one ever shovels the sidewalk beneath the tracks. 311 tells you to talk to the MTA, and the MTA says to tell 311.”
- Seth in Brooklyn
You have our sympathies, Seth. A similar problem exists on Lincoln Road across the street from the Prospect Park subway station, where neither the MTA nor the DOT clear the sidewalk. The Department of Sanitation and the MTA say the rules for snow removal are simple: “All property owners are responsible for clearing a 4-foot path along the sidewalk, as well as adjacent bus stops and fire hydrants, and access to crosswalks. This rule applies to all property owners, including government agencies,” according to Department of Sanitation spokesperson Vincent Gragnani. Of course, in reality it’s never that simple.
The MTA is responsible for clearing subway entrances, as well as properties, like under the Franklin shuttle. But the sanitation department can’t issue tickets to government agencies. They can, however, send a strongly worded email or make a phone call. In the case of the stretch of sidewalk under the Franklin shuttle, sanitation says it sometimes helps the MTA clear it. If you still see an issue and feel like killing some time, call 311.
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