New Jersey Governor Seeks to Stop NYC Congestion Pricing

The governor calls the plan a ‘cash grab,’ claiming New Jersey residents did not have adequate opportunities for input.

2 minute read

October 13, 2022, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Skyline

Songquan Deng / Shutterstock

New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy is asking President Biden to put the brakes on New York City’s congestion pricing project, which would be the first in the country, calling for a more thorough environmental impact study and accusing the MTA of a “cash grab.”

According to a New York Times article by Tracey Tully, Ana Ley, and Patrick McGeehan, “Mr. Murphy has said that New Jersey residents were not properly consulted about the plan, and he has argued that it would harm people who ‘cannot afford to live in Manhattan and must travel great lengths to reach their workplace.’”

As proposed, “The new congestion fees would come in addition to tunnel and bridge tolls and apply to vehicles entering Manhattan between 60th Street and the Battery. Vehicles traveling along the F.D.R. Drive and the West Side Highway would not be charged the toll.”

Proponents of the program say the federal government likely won’t delay it further. “Any additional federal review would come on top of an already completed assessment and, if granted, would almost certainly delay the ambitious project that is expected to bolster the struggling Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s bottom line while getting people out of cars and onto mass transit.”

The dispute is one of several over transportation between the two states. Earlier this year, after New Jersey proposed a bill to bar New York from enforcing speed camera citations against New Jersey drivers, New York proposed bills that would charge New Jersey drivers $50 to enter New York City. In 2010, former governor Chris Christie “canceled a fully funded tunnel under the Hudson River that was a precursor to the Gateway tunnel project now expected to take another 13 years.”

Thursday, October 6, 2022 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

July 6, 2025 - Next City

Tunnel for pedestrians, bikes, and buses in Lyon, France lit up with purple lights.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free

Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

5 hours ago - Streetsblog San Francisco

Missouri state Rep. Chris Brown speaking in government chamber.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies

A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

6 hours ago - Missouri Independent

Pedestrians crossing a rainbow painted crosswalk in New York City.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program

The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.

6 hours ago - Urban Milwaukee