Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Did New Jersey fumble congestion pricing negotiations?

By

Jon Campbell

and

Ramsey Khalifeh

Published Jan 10, 2025

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

The Holland Tunnel entrance.

 

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

By

Jon Campbell

and

Ramsey Khalifeh

Published Jan 10, 2025

Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

This column originally appeared in On The Way, a weekly newsletter covering everything you need to know about NYC-area transportation.

Sign up to get the full version, which includes answers to reader questions, trivia, service changes and more, in your inbox every Thursday.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s office took that proverb to heart last week as it repeatedly tried — and failed — to convince federal judges to block the MTA’s congestion pricing tolls from taking effect in Manhattan. He's faced criticism over his refusal to compromise on the issue, with some claiming it may have cost his constituents.

Senior U.S. Judge Leo Gordon spent weeks trying to get New Jersey and New York to reach a settlement that would end the Garden State’s legal challenge to the program. Before ruling against New Jersey and allowing the tolls to begin, Gordon made one last-ditch effort to broker a settlement. For hours last Friday, lawyers for New Jersey and New York walked in and out of his chambers in Newark federal court.

The negotiations were confidential. But two sources with knowledge of the talks who were not authorized to speak about them said New York (and the MTA) offered New Jersey five things:

New Jersey’s attorneys declined the offer. They wanted a higher crossing credit and thought the traffic and pollution mitigation funding, in particular, was far too low, the sources said.

The negotiations failed. Around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Gordon returned to the bench and ruled that the federal approval of congestion pricing tolls was legally sufficient. That allowed the MTA to switch on the tolling cameras as scheduled on Sunday.

“We’ll see how New Jersey, after losing again and again and again, adjusts their views,” MTA Chair Janno Lieber said at a news conference hours after the tolls went live.

During an appearance on WNYC on Wednesday, Murphy dismissed the notion that New York actually offered New Jersey “goodies” during the settlement talks.

“The one reasonable party this entire time has been New Jersey. We have been the one party that said, 'Bring us to the table, let’s figure out something fair,'” Murphy said. “What people are saying out there [is] patently absurd.”

The dire state of NJ Transit is at the heart of the issue. To avoid a roughly $1 billion shortfall in the agency’s next fiscal year budget, officials have had to increase fares across the board by 15% — and introduced a tax in the state budget on the most profitable businesses — to generate new revenues.

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop — who’s running for governor — was quick to criticize Murphy’s handling of the lawsuit. He said New Jersey’s attorneys should have worked harder to reach an agreement that benefits public transit for New Jerseyans, who he says are now bearing the brunt of a new toll.

“I do think that when you take the approach of fighting so fiercely against congestion pricing just because polling tells you that the word ‘congestion pricing’ is bad leads to other questions about ‘Who are you fighting for?’” Fulop told Gothamist. “Normal, regular, working-class people don’t drive their personal vehicles daily to Midtown New York to their job and then pay for parking $1,000-plus a month.”

He argued that instead of taking such a hard line against New York’s congestion pricing plan, New Jersey should have found ways for NJ Transit and PATH to benefit from the tolls. Fulop also floated the idea of New Jersey launching its own congestion pricing program to fund transit improvements.

Have a question about subway cars (or literally anything else NYC-transit related)? Use this form to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter!

But note that Curious Commuter questions are exclusive for On The Way newsletter subscribers. Sign up for free here.

Question from Erika in Manhattan

What is New York City’s fastest subway train, and how fast does it go?

Answer

MTA officials report subway trains are allowed to travel at speeds of up to 55 mph. But that threshold is only reached in certain parts of the system. The agency’s representatives said those areas include some East River tunnels and certain areas of express tracks — but declined to specify exactly where trains hit that top speed, citing security concerns. But the authors of this newsletter, being astute riders of the subway, were able to surmise certain areas where that 55 mph speed is reached. The Lexington Avenue line, which carries the 4 and 5 trains in Manhattan, reaches the top speed in some areas, including the long stretch between 86th and 125th streets. On the other side of town, the A line also whizzes at that rate during its three-plus miles of express track between 59th and 125th streets.

The latest NYC area transit headlines

Listen here:

Tagged

new york state

new york city

manhattan

new jersey

transportation

On The Way

Jon Campbell

Twitter

Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.

Read more

Ramsey Khalifeh

Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

MORE news

NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says

Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.

By

Liam Quigley

Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:47 p.m. ET

Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.

By

Ryan Kost

News

Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.

By

Ryan Kost

DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say

By

Brittany Kriegstein

Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says

By

Stephen Nessen

NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem

By

Ryan Kost

Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .