Stating it has reached an “impasse” in talks with USDOT, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) signaled its intention to seek court protection of the toll program in a May 2 letter, Bloomberg (via Transport Topics) reports. “The MTA suggested it will ask the judge on the case to issue a preliminary injunction blocking DOT from withholding federal approvals or funding for New York as it continues to impose the toll.” On April 21, USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy threatened the federal action unless New York State shuts down the congestion pricing program by May 21. US District Judge Lewis Liman, who is overseeing the thorny dispute between New York and the Trump administration, previously issued a May 5 deadline for MTA to request an injunction.
In the May 2 letter, an attorney for MTA said USDOT lawyers refused to agree that no coercive measures would be taken against the state before Judge Liman decides whether the federal government can rescind the approval it gave MTA in 2024 to start congestion pricing.