DECONGESTANT EFFORTS: City Comptroller Brad Lander unveiled a pair of lawsuits today aimed at Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 11th hour decision to nix congestion pricing. Flanked by several plaintiffs — The City Club of New York, the Riders Alliance and the Sierra Club — Lander argued at a press conference that the governor’s decision imperiled public transit upgrades intended to be funded with revenue from the toll plan. “She single-handedly deprived millions of subway and bus riders of that $15 billion of investment in trains that run on time, in accessible stations, in less congestion, in cleaner air,” said the Democratic city official, who is planning to run for mayor next year. “And at the same time, in addition to all of that, she violated several state laws.” The comptroller is leading a coalition of transit, environmental and disability rights advocates who are livid at Hochul’s decision, and is helping coordinate the pro bono attorneys who penned the legal salvos. One suit argues the congestion pricing law mandated the program — which was set to take effect last month — and did not provide Hochul with the legal authority to single-handedly nix it. The other asserts Hochul is flouting the state’s landmark greenhouse gas reduction law. Hochul’s last-minute decision to tank the plan to charge drivers in parts of Manhattan was partly motivated by concerns from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that it would harm Democrats running in competitive congressional races in the New York City suburbs. Lander rejected that argument, pointing to Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi’s support for congestion pricing and his decisive win in Nassau County earlier this year. And a recent change at the top of the Democratic ticket, he added, obviates any concern over the $15 toll. “The elevation of [Vice President] Kamala Harris to being our presumptive nominee dramatically outweighs, in enthusiasm for the fall, anything that would be related to congestion pricing,” he said. Lander also said he has had a respectful dialogue with the governor on the congestion pricing issue — an assertion Hochul’s office called into question. “Get in line. There are now 11 separate congestion pricing lawsuits filed by groups trying to weaponize the judicial system to score political points,” a gubernatorial spokesperson said. “But Governor Hochul remains focused on what matters: funding transit, reducing congestion, and protecting working New Yorkers.” — Joe Anuta and Ry Rivard |