Congestion pricing in New York: City of Hempstead first on Long Island to file suit against tolling plan
HEMPSTEAD, Long Island (WABC) — Another lawsuit was filed Thursday to stop New York City’s congestion pricing plan before it takes effect in eight weeks.
The city of Hempstead filed the federal lawsuit, making it the first on Long Island to take legal action against the controversial tolling plan.
Drivers say it’s already too expensive to get into Manhattan. Some have already resigned themselves to paying the toll of congestion.
“I think it’s a lot of money and I think they’re pricing out New York businesses and I’m a Democrat,” one driver said.
But others are not ready to give up.
“Nothing is closed in this world. Nothing is closed,” said Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin.
Clavin sued Thursday to stop congestion pricing and seek a permanent injunction against the plan on civil rights grounds. The lawsuit says it has not been properly licensed and treats different classes of drivers differently.
Starting Sunday, June 30, license plate readers and EZ-pass sensors will toll virtually all vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
It will be 15 dollars for cars and more for trucks. Taxis will be charged $1.25 per trip and $2.50 for rideshare vehicles.
It hopes to raise $1 billion a year to maintain and improve New York City’s transportation system. MTA officials are adding trains for what they hope will be a surge of new riders.
“Congestion pricing has been put on hold, right? Because of these lawsuits,” Free said. “Once we get the go-ahead for congestion pricing, the money we would use would, first of all, be used to buy new cars for our customers. So we would strip out the older cars and put in the new ones, which would hugely benefit to our customers and help us improve service.”
READ ALSO | Congestion Pricing in New York: What You Need to Know
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