The previous April 20 deadline to end the program was pushed back a month.
NEW YORK CITY — Wednesday marks the latest federal deadline for New York City to end congestion pricing after city officials ignored last month’s deadline.
U.S. DOT Chief Sean Duffy previously had given the city an April 20 deadline to end the program.
Duffy has said if the city ignores this latest deadline, they would begin to hold federal funds meant for city projects.
In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul last month, Duffy detailed that the Federal Highway Administration would hold up funds for some federally funded road projects in the city, Patch previously reported.
Federal officials have threatened to hold federal highway funding for projects in Manhattan, but also would target funding for street projects across the city and other parts of the state if congestion pricing continues.
Duffy said they would go after projects “essential for safety.”
Hochul and the MTA have said they have no plans to shut down the program.
A timeline submitted by the MTA to a federal judge showed the tolls will continue at least through late October, due to legal motions the MTA and the federal government have agreed to, Patch previously reported
Congestion pricing in the city has raised nearly $160 million in the first three months of the program, Patch previously reported. From Jan. 5 to March 31, the program raised $159 million in revenue, according to MTA data.
The month of March netted the MTA $45.1 million in congestion pricing revenue, officials disclosed.
Congestion pricing in the city raised nearly $52 million in toll revenue in February, and January brought in $48.6 million in revenue. Duffy has called congestion pricing a “slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners.”
President Donald Trump had initially given the MTA until March 18 to end the program and tolls to allow for an “orderly cessation.”
It is not known at this time what the federal government will do when the deadline passes.
CREDIT: Patch Staff David Lucas
