The following statement can be attributed to Lisa Daglian, Executive Director, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC):
“Today’s ruling was a strong rebuke to Governor Hochul’s argument that she could unilaterally decide to stop congestion pricing from proceeding simply because she wanted to. It was a victory of good policy over bad politics. Cogent arguments were made that the only step remaining before it began was procedural, for the State DOT to sign the VPPP agreement and that the Governor did not have a further role to play — certainly not by alerting the Commissioner to refrain from signing the agreement through her pre-recorded message on June 5. It was clearly restated that the Governor’s power and authority came through appointing members of the TMRB and TBTA, which are the entities assigned the responsibility of setting the tolling rate and start date.
Judge Engoron’s ruling was a victory for riders and we hope that Governor Hochul takes to heart the arguments made and lessons learned. It’s not too late to get us on the road to cleaner air, less traffic and needed funding for vital transit infrastructure. Governor Hochul: follow the law and unpause the pause!”
Contact:
Brian Fritsch, 319-432-8503 [email protected]
Lisa Daglian, 917-612-2292 [email protected]