New Jersey refuses “generous” settlement over congestion pricing lawsuit, Hochul says

It’s a suicide rap.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is endangering his own transit system by failing to provide a “generous” nine digits Sources familiar with the matter told Streetsblog that he reached a settlement agreement to end his state’s lawsuit over congestion pricing and shore up the struggling New Jersey Transit system.

Gov. Hochul herself told reporters Wednesday that New Jersey acted in bad faith in settlement negotiations between the Empire and Garden states.

“We have made several offers to resolve this litigation. Very generous offers. I wish I could describe them to you because you would say they are generous. I am not free to do that,” the governor said. She added that her decision to reduce the peak congestion fee to $9 from the original $15 “has not changed New Jersey’s position” regarding New York imposing a fee for driving a car in the busiest and busiest part of New York City.

The sources said New York is offering New Jersey “more” $100 million for New Jersey Transit — possibly an annual payment of the roughly $900 million expected annually in congestion pricing. The money would be a boon for Murphy, who raised fares a staggering 15 percent this year due to budget constraints. The system continued to struggle.

One advocate said that if Hochul was to be taken at his word, Murphy was doing a great disservice to NJ Transit commuters, who, like their counterparts on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road, would benefit directly from congestion pricing. Currently, the MTA’s commuter rail systems each receive 10 percent of the $15 billion in capital improvements funded by congestion pricing (the remaining 80 percent goes to New York City Transit, whose ridership includes many New Jersey residents).

New Jersey motorists are expected to account for about 20 percent of toll trips when congestion pricing begins, but they would account for far less than 20 percent of toll revenue thanks to the credits they receive for entering central business traffic through the The Lincoln and Holland toll tunnels have already been preserved. (New Jersey also apparently declined to extend the credit for drivers entering the congestion zone over the George Washington Bridge.)

Betsy Plum, executive director of the Riders Alliance, called Murphy’s alleged reluctance to make a deal “a stubbornness tax” – a tax his transit riders will pay.

“It’s really interesting to see (NJ Transit’s) riders continue to deal with an unreliable, increasingly expensive system when they could have a much better one,” Plum said.

By rejecting the settlement offer, one source said, Murphy risked triggering a war with New York state over the Port Authority, which he has threatened in the past by halting the bi-state agency’s regular operations.

“There is real money at stake for New Jersey Transit trains and buses and the PATH train,” they said. “These are carrots. But there’s a significant sticking point here, which is that New Jersey really wants a fancy new Port Authority bus station, and that could be a lot harder if we don’t have congestion pricing.”

A spokesman for Murphy said the Garden State governor “respectfully declines” to comment on the issue of settlement discussions.

Area environmental activists targeted Murphy for potentially torpedoing his own legacy as a Green governor.

“Obviously the lawsuit is short-sighted and, if successful, would be a devastating blow to the region’s economy and transportation system,” said Justin Balik, Evergreen Action’s state program director. “It contradicts the climate legacy of the Murphy administration. It appears that New Jersey is directly holding back critical improvements to public transit from other measures that would improve the quality of life for its own residents.”

Hochul’s comments Wednesday came just 18 days after the nation’s first congestion pricing program began Jan. 5. There are still a number of lawsuits that could stop tolling, but the New Jersey case that was most recently filed was the longest-running lawsuit over the traffic toll, which took place in July and lasted two days in April was negotiated orally.

On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Liman will hold a hearing on a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by the Trucking Association of New York and a coalition of city anti-congestion advocacy groups. Liman has already ruled on most of the merits of the city’s anti-congestion pricing lawsuit on behalf of the federal government and the MTA to prevent the implementation of congestion pricing.

And on Monday, a federal judge will consider another request for a preliminary injunction filed by the county supervisors of Rockland and Orange counties. The town of Hempstead has also asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order, but the date for that hearing has not yet been set.