Federal judge blocks Trump administration efforts to stop NYC congestion pricing
NEW YORK — A Manhattan federal judge has blocked the federal government from ending congestion pricing before the end of an ongoing lawsuit — issuing a preliminary injunction against Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday.
The order, issued by Judge Lewis Liman, comes one day after he issued a temporary restraining order in the case, blocking any such action for two weeks.
The injunction indefinitely prevents Duffy or his agency from acting on their claims that they can unilaterally revoke an authorization toll — and blocks any of the so-called 'compliance actions' Duffy has threatened — until Liman rules on the legality of USDOT's efforts to end the congestion pricing program.
'For the avoidance of doubt, (Duffy and the USDOT) are enjoined from taking any of the'compliance measures' ... including withholding federal funds, approvals, or authorizations from New York state or local agencies to enforce compliance with or implement .. (their) purported termination of the Tolling Program,' the 109-page order concludes.
Speaking to reporters shortly after the order was filed Paige Graves, MTA's general counsel, said she hadn't yet read the injunction in full.
'I have not looked at the details of his decision, but it's positive news,' Graves said.
The congestion toll first began in January — a requirement of New York state's 2019 Traffic Mobility Act, meant to both reduce congestion and back $15 billion in bonds toward specific MTA projects.
Duffy first claimed the authority to unilaterally end the toll weeks later, in February. When the MTA sued, Duffy gave Gov. Kathy Hochul a March 21 deadline to end the toll. Duffy then extended the deadline to April 20, then to May 21.
As the toll remained in place on May 21, Duffy — in a letter to Hochul — threatened to withhold federal funds for any highway project in Manhattan, refuse to approve Manhattan projects under the National Environmental Policy Act, and refuse to greenlight any funding amendments from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council — unless Hochul ended the toll.
In issuing Tuesday's restraining order, Liman said New York stood to suffer irreparable harms from the feds' demands, including the 'delay of numerous public works projects,' 'harm to the bond market' and the 'undermining (of) the authority of a sovereign state' that had democratically passed the law requiring the toll.
_____
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trucking company owner indicted in $2M credit card scam
A San Diego-area owner-operator was arraigned on Tuesday in an 18-count indictment charging him with bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. Hasan Korkmaz, who owns San Diego Logistics Group Inc. based in Santee, California, carried out a credit card 'bust-out' scam in which seemingly legitimate credit card accounts are established and then are 'busted out' by maxing out the credit line with no intention of paying the balance, according to the U.S. attorney's office representing the Southern District of California. Prosecutors allege that Korkmaz obtained names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other personal information linked to real people and used the information to apply for numerous credit card accounts. After opening the fraudulent accounts, he allegedly used the cards to charge various businesses, including his own trucking company, with some charges as high as $18,500 for a single transaction.'To perpetuate the scheme, Korkmaz also made fraudulent payments, with checks drawn on accounts with insufficient funds or drawn on non-existent accounts, to the credit card accounts, thereby temporarily restoring the available credit limits,' according to the attorney's office. 'Korkmaz would then incur additional charges on the credit card accounts at or near the maximum credit limits for the accounts.' Korkmaz is also alleged to have laundered the bank fraud proceeds, including by transferring them to a Turkish bank account he controlled, causing two banks to lose $2.1 million. According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration registration data, San Diego Logistics Group specializes in hauling refrigerated meat and fresh produce with three tractors and five drivers. It is listed as having an 'inactive' USDOT convicted, Korkmaz faces maximum sentences of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud, 20 years and $500,000 for money laundering, and a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. South Florida trucking company owner gets long prison term for Ponzi scheme California freight forwarder charged with smuggling billions in goods California trucking company owner pleads guilty to PPP fraud Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post Trucking company owner indicted in $2M credit card scam appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Rails Against Men in Spandex
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, still grappling with a series of air traffic control outages that have disrupted U.S. airspace in recent weeks, took a detour Tuesday—into fashion policing. 'I don't think men in spandex look good at all, I'm sorry to the guys that bike' Duffy said on the conservative Ruthless podcast, wading into MAGA's favorite fixation: masculinity. 'Women in spandex—beautiful,' added the married father of nine, drawing raucous laughter from the show's all-male hosts. 'Men, not so much, right?' Duffy, a former Fox Business TV host, is the latest MAGA figure to lay down edicts on 'manliness.' In March, Fox News host Jesse Watters unveiled his five ' rules for men '—among them: no crossing your legs, no soup in public, and no straws (pursing your lips is apparently too 'effeminate'). Vice President J.D. Vance has also tried to join the conversation, lamenting in February that 'our culture sends a message to young men that you should suppress every masculine urge.' 'My message to young men is don't allow this broken culture to send you a message that you're a bad person because you're a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends, or because you're competitive,' he said. When stocks plunged in April after President Donald Trump rolled out his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, The Free Press columnist Batya Ungar-Sargon argued that his trade war would ultimately alleviate America's 'crisis in masculinity' by reviving jobs that depend on 'brawn and physicality.' Duffy aired his spandex critique while talking with the Ruthless podcast hosts about his predecessor at the department, Pete Buttigieg—who famously rode his bike to work and whom Duffy has repeatedly tried to pin recent air traffic control meltdowns on. The Trump administration has proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the country's troubled air traffic control system, calling for six new control centers and tech upgrades at all air traffic facilities nationwide. Duffy is also scrambling to address a nationwide staffing crisis at the Federal Aviation Agency, but progress has been hampered by Elon Musk the Trump administration's own deferred-resignation program, which has resulted in more than 1,200 employees exiting the agency.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
FAA seeks 'top innovators' to rebuild air traffic control system
June 3 (UPI) -- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Tuesday the Federal Aviation Administration is searching for "top innovators" to lead the rebuilding of the nation's "antiquated" air traffic control system. Duffy said the FAA will host two industry days next week in Washington, D.C., and another in New Jersey to meet with companies that could spearhead the building of the next air traffic control system. "We have an antiquated air traffic control system that is showing its age," Duffy said. "In order to implement President Trump's and my plan for a brand new system, we need the technical expertise and management experience from the best innovators in the world." "In the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' there is $12.5 billion to start this project. A big deal," Duffy told reporters Tuesday. "I believe the Senate's going to provide more dollars for us also? We'll see what they do ... This has to happen fast." "The failures of the past is that the FAA has gotten small tranches of money, not full funding," Duffy added. "We need full funding. We need the money up front so we can contract out and build this brand new system across the country." The FAA is planning to replace the core infrastructure of the system to include radar, software, hardware and telecommunications networks to make sure towers have the technology needed to "reduce outages, improve efficiency and reinforce safety." The proposed plan would replace fiber, wireless and satellite technologies at more than 4,600 sites and install 25,000 new radios and 475 new voice switches. And it would replace 618 radar systems that have exceeded their lifespan. The FAA's new system also calls for six new air traffic control centers, none of which have been built in the last 60 years. "It is critical the United States acts now to invest and modernize a National Airspace System that supports the future and moves beyond the 1960s," the FAA's air traffic control system report said. Plans to overhaul the nation's air traffic control system were announced by the Trump administration in February. At this point, there is no timeline or price for the project. The FAA said that information will come when the best company provides "innovative ideas and new technologies" to help execute and manage the massive reinvention. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a new, world-class air traffic system," said FAA acting administrator Chris Rocheleau. "We need world-class innovators to step up and tell us the best way to build it."
