A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily thwarted the Trump administration’s bid to kill Manhattan’s congestion pricing — ensuring the controversial program will stay in place until at least next month.
US District Judge Lewis Liman issued a restraining order that prevents the US Transportation Department from fining or punishing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as the court battle over the toll rages on.
The ruling came down just one day before Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had threatened that the government could start withholding federal funding and approvals for New York projects if the toll wasn’t nixed.
The order, which was handed down after both sides presented arguments in Lower Manhattan federal court earlier Tuesday, will remain in place until June 9.
“We’ve won — again,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement in the wake of the ruling.
“Judge Liman’s temporary restraining order is a massive victory for New York commuters, vindicating our right as a State to make decisions regarding what’s best for our streets.”
The MTA and feds have been duking it out in court ever since Duffy first declared congestion pricing “dead” back on Feb. 19.
It prompted the transit agency to slap the Trump administration with a lawsuit, arguing the federal government can’t unilaterally end the program.
The restraining order ruling on Tuesday came after MTA officials asked the judge to step in when Duffy started setting deadlines to stop the toll – or risk losing access to federal cash.
In his ruling, Judge Liman said the state “would suffer irreparable harm” if the restraining order wasn’t granted.
An elated Hochul ripped the Trump administration amid the ongoing legal saga, saying only New Yorkers deserved to control their own traffic patterns.
“So here’s the deal: Secretary Duffy can issue as many letters and social media posts as he wants, but a court has blocked the Trump Administration from retaliating against New York for reducing traffic and investing in transit,” Hochul said.
“Congestion pricing is legal, it’s working and we’re keeping the cameras on.”
MTA boss Janno Lieber was quick to hail the latest ruling, too, saying it’s clear the judge wasn’t on board with the feds trying to “coerce the state of New York and the MTA to eliminate congestion pricing.”
“It’s good news for New Yorkers who are benefiting from congestion pricing because we want to move quickly to final resolution,” Lieber told reporters outside the court.
“It’s also good news in the sense that he spoke out in favor of state sovereignty.”
Lieber accused the federal government of drawing out the litigation until now, but doubted they would send yet another 30-day deadline letter, which has become a hallmark of the congestion pricing drama over the last few months.
“A lot of people have been put off by the idea that the federal government is going to step in and tell New York City how to deal with its traffic problem,” he said.
“That seems a little crazy and he specifically called out state sovereignty as an important factor weighing on his decision. We welcome it.”
With Post wires
