Bergen officials sue to block NYC congestion pricing, calling it 'cancer-causing' tax
FORT LEE — With the loud, bustling George Washington Bridge as a backdrop, elected officials from many levels in Bergen County announced a new lawsuit this week in yet another attempt to undo New York's controversial congestion pricing plan.
Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and Richard Galler, a borough resident with asthma, said in court documents that their health could become impaired from increased traffic on the George Washington Bridge and that they will be inconvenienced by the rerouting because of the congestion pricing tolls planned for Manhattan below 60th Street.
They are seeking a judicially mandated review of the federal approval process used to greenlight the program, as well as the creation of a fund to remediate traffic, noise, air pollution, stress on New Jersey's mass transit infrastructure, and the "deleterious health impact" on residents living near the George Washington Bridge and feeder roads, according to the class-action suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey on Wednesday.
The plaintiffs cite remediation actions the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning in the Bronx, a community that could see more traffic because of congestion pricing, while none are planned in New Jersey.
Those actions include spending at least $130 million to help electrify diesel-powered refrigeration trucks that go to the Hunts Point Market, expanding the clean trucks voucher program, improving community parks, installing air filtration systems at schools near highways, and creating an asthma treatment program.
Sokolich announced the lawsuit's filing at a press conference held at Fort Lee Historic Park, accompanied by U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who has led the charge against New York's tolling program; Bruce Nagel, the lawyer representing Sokolich and Galler; and other local elected officials who are fighting congestion pricing.
"To absorb that additional traffic is going to all but destroy the quality of lives we've managed to accumulate here in Fort Lee," Sokolich said. "With that comes pollutants, filth, dirt, atmosphere — it impacts everybody in my borough, and it impacts everybody in the region."
More: These North Jersey drivers are the ones most concerned about NY's congestion pricing plan
Murphy sued the Federal Highway Administration
The lawsuit is the second in three months to come from New Jersey to try to put a stop to the tolling program, which could go into effect as early as next spring.
Gov. Phil Murphy sued the Federal Highway Administration in July, accusing it of failing to require a more thorough environmental review of the program.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority — which will oversee the tolling program, designed to reduce congestion in Manhattan, improve the city's air quality and raise money for the MTA's public transportation capital program — asked to join the lawsuit as a defendant last month to ensure that its interests are adequately represented.
'Cancer-causing congestion tax'
Among the outcomes the plaintiffs are seeking in the lawsuit filed Wednesday is for New York "to provide health care for all of the families in New Jersey who develop breathing and other health issues from their cancer-causing congestion tax," Gottheimer said. "They've already admitted that it's going to cause asthma for the children — that's why they're giving all this money to the Bronx. Not a penny for Jersey."
The Traffic Mobility Review Board — named as a defendant in the suit filed Wednesday, along with the MTA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and several officials associated with those groups — is tasked with determining what the cost of the tolls will be and how credits or exemptions will work. The board has not yet made a final recommendation on the congestion pricing tolling plan.
“It’s Gottheimer Groundhog Day and — shocker — he wants to send more traffic and more pollution to New York," said John McCarthy, the MTA's chief of policy and external relations. "News flash: Manhattan is already full of vehicles, and we don’t need more carbon emissions. So congestion pricing needs to move forward for less traffic, safer streets, cleaner air and huge improvements to mass transit."
The current outline of the tolling proposal would charge drivers a fee — ranging from $9 to $23 — at the Manhattan entry points below 60th Street, excluding the George Washington Bridge. That's why the new lawsuit alleges that more drivers could choose to use the bridge to avoid the charge. The Lincoln and Holland tunnels could be subject to credits for tolls that people already pay to use those crossings.
The MTA's environmental report predicts that the number of vehicles that pass through Bergen County could increase 0.88% after the program's implementation, which could increase pollutants between 0.40% and 0.82%.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County NJ officials sue to block NYC congestion pricing
