(Bloomberg) -- New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy called on President Donald Trump to help fight New York City’s congestion pricing and revisit the studies used by federal agencies to greenlight the controversial toll.
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Murphy, a Democrat, has issued several pleas in recent days to appeal to the Republican president, who vowed to eliminate congestion pricing during his campaign last year.
“I am asking for a fair deal, a fair thorough review of the environmental impact, a fair financial deal for both New Jersey, but more importantly especially for our commuters,” Murphy said Wednesday during his Ask Governor Murphy broadcast. “We’re not done yet.”
Murphy, who earlier this week sent a letter asking Trump to review the program, said he expects to hear back from the president, citing their “working relationship.”
Under congestion pricing, which began Jan. 5, motorists driving into a zone south of 60th Street in Manhattan pay $9 during peak hours. The toll is part of a plan to bring $15 billion to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s century-old subway and commuter-rail lines that are desperately in need of upgrades. Transit advocates and environmentalists say the program will ease traffic, cut pollution and boost mass transit ridership.
Murphy, who sued the federal government in 2023, says the plan would increase congestion and pollution in his state along routes that avoid the central business district in Manhattan, such as towns near the George Washington Bridge. Earlier this month, a judge denied New Jersey’s request for a pause on the plan while the case is litigated.
Republican lawmakers from New York have also been pushing Trump to shelve the program, saying it unfairly punishes commuters who already pay tolls to get into Manhattan. House members Nick LaLota and Nicole Malliotakis, who represent parts of Long Island and Staten Island, say they’ve discussed with Trump the possibility of doing so through the Federal Highway Administration, which in June 2023 determined a 4,000-page assessment by the MTA showed the tolling program had no significant impact on the environment.
“The incoming administration and Republican members from New York and New Jersey are exploring authorities within the Federal Highway Administration that could effectively undo congestion pricing,” LaLota said in an interview. “President Trump, a native New Yorker, a businessman, understands the negative impact of congestion pricing on New York. And at the meeting, he seemed eager to have it repealed.”