Two policies intended to benefit the environment are now in conflict as lawsuits over the tolling plan mount.
People drive vehicles in and out of the Lincoln Tunnel, coming and going between midtown Manhattan in New York City and New Jersey, in Weehawken, New Jersey, on Friday, May 12, 2023. | Ted Shaffrey/APFoes of congestion pricing, the long-awaited plan to reduce traffic in Manhattan by charging drivers, are aiming to block the tolls using a constitutional amendment designed to protect the environment.
“How is that not going to be a violation of the green amendment?” said Alan Klinger, an attorney who is representing toll foes, including Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella and the United Federation of Teachers. “Because it is certainly going to affect the quality of the environment for these communities.”
“The law says that environmental justice communities are supposed to get special attention and protection, not be treated worse,” Klinger said. More broadly, the state, which effectively runs the MTA, has cited reducing overall air pollution as among the reasons Albany lawmakers supported congestion pricing in the first place. Plus, the state has said, there are plans to deal with some of the negative local impacts, including installing charging stations for electric trucks, monitoring traffic conditions and putting in plants to mitigate air pollution from changes in traffic patterns.
Jack Lester, an attorney representing New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax and other plaintiffs challenging the tolling plan, said the green amendment and congestion pricing don’t have to be in conflict, they just are because of the way the MTA is going about the tolling plan.
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