Speaking at a press conference, Hochul framed the federal action as an unprecedented overreach, arguing that New York’s right to govern its own transportation policy was under attack. She underscored the program’s benefits, including reduced traffic congestion, improved air quality, and enhanced public transit reliability. The governor also dismissed the administration’s justification, which cited opposition from New Jersey officials, calling it an improper interference in a state decision. Hochul vowed to keep the program operational, affirming that cameras would remain active and that the state would aggressively contest the move in court.
Lieber, echoing Hochul’s remarks, detailed the program’s early success, reporting a 9 percent drop in traffic since its implementation, faster bus speeds, and fewer traffic-related crashes.
He also pointed to economic gains, including a rise in restaurant reservations, increased pedestrian activity, and a surge in commercial office leasing. Rejecting the administration’s decision as politically motivated, Lieber argued that congestion pricing is a pragmatic, locally driven solution to the challenges of managing traffic in one of the world’s most densely populated cities.
Both officials confirmed that the MTA had filed a lawsuit within minutes of receiving the federal notice. Meanwhile, the MTA will continue to collect the congestion-pricing tolls.
“Listen, in addition to the specifics of the program, which, as I said, do not allow the federal government to unilaterally terminate a program once it’s been approved and once it’s begun, there’s all kinds of case law in federal courts about the procedures that the federal government has to use to take away an approval to reverse a decision. None of this complies with that, and that’s why we are so comfortable that this is a strong case, and we’re going to win. Interestingly, the Secretary’s letter did not say in any, at any point, we have to stop the cameras now. They said we’d like to talk to you about turning them off. Obviously, we’re not going to do that. But I emphasized, I think they know that they don’t have the right to terminate the program, and we’ll see what happens,”
Listen, in addition to the specifics of the program, which, as I said, do not allow the federal government to unilaterally terminate a program once it’s been approved and once it’s begun, there’s all kinds of case law in federal courts about the procedures that the federal government has to use to take away an approval to reverse a decision. None of this complies with that, and that’s why we are so comfortable that this is a strong case, and we’re going to win. Interestingly, the Secretary’s letter did not say in any, at any point, we have to stop the cameras now. They said we’d like to talk to you about turning them off. Obviously, we’re not going to do that. But I emphasized, I think they know that they don’t have the right to terminate the program, and we’ll see what happens,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber on NY1’s Mornings on 1.