A day after New York defied a federal deadline to end its congestion tolls in Manhattan, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday warned that the Trump administration would cut off funding for transportation projects if noncompliance continues.
In a letter to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Duffy warning of “serious consequences” if the program continues despite the Trump administration having revoked federal approval of it in February. The program had originally been approved during the prior Biden administration.
Duffy said Monday the New York State Department of Transportation had until May 21 to explain why the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shouldn’t take action to force compliance and warned that it would begin withholding approvals and funding of transportation projects in Manhattan on May 28.
These “corrective actions… may be expanded to other geographic areas of New York if noncompliance continues,” Duffy wrote.
The controversial $9 toll on most vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street went into effect on Jan. 5. Trucks pay either $14.40 or $21.60, depending on their size.
The Trump administration originally set a March 21 deadline for ending the tolls, then later extended that to April 20 as the dispute continued. To date, the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Hochul have twice defied orders from Washington to stop the tolls, which are expected to raise $15 billion for repairs and improvements to subways, buses and commuter rail lines.
“New York’s cordon pricing program imposes a disproportionate financial hardship on low-and medium-income hardworking drivers for the benefit of high-income drivers,” Duffy wrote in his letter to Hochul.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who opposes the city’s congestion pricing program, has previously accused the MTA of solving its financial problems on the backs of New Jersey commuters, and the New Jersey businesses that must make deliveries to Manhattan.
