A Supreme Court judge on June 18 dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Town of Hempstead against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the State of New York that opposed the revised congestion-pricing play in Manhattan.
Justice Arthur Engoron made his ruling the day after the scheduled hearing. According to published reports, lawyers representing the Town of Hempstead failed to show up that morning, claiming that they were unaware that any hearing was scheduled.
Engoron and the parties eventually tried to conduct the hearing virtually, but the town’s attorneys stated multiple times that the audio was difficult to understand. The judge then decided to postpone the hearing until 2:15 p.m. on June 17, to give the plaintiffs another opportunity to attend in person.
“It's pretty clear that they are all going to lose,” MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said during a news conference. “We've been sued, as I say, in every courthouse east of the Mississippi. We've won literally every case. This most recent case actually shows how frivolous these lawsuits are. So frivolous, the lawyers didn't even show up for the big motion to dismiss. And there was a, you know, and then they started kvetching about how long it was going to take them to drive into the city. We advised them, please take the Long Island Rail Road, it’s right across from your office.
“In any event, they showed up, they almost immediately threw in the towel, and the case was dismissed,” Lieber added. “It's typical of the litigation so far, and I expect that will continue in all the courthouses.”
In a statement the town said that they plan to appeal the decision and “will continue to fight Governor [Kathy] Hochul’s attempts to balance the MTA’s budgets on the back of suburban drivers.”
“The Town of Hempstead strongly disagrees with Judge Engoron’s decision regarding the Township lawsuit, which seeks to strike down Governor Hochul’s wrong-minded ‘congestion pricing’ tax,” Brian Devine, the town’s director of communications wrote in the emailed statement. “This regressive tax is clearly punitive towards suburban communities, does not consider ability of motorists to pay, and it was implemented without adequate provision for public input or consideration of alternatives.
Town Supervisor Don Clavin filed the lawsuit in Nassau County Supreme Court on Nov. 21, stating that Hochul and the MTA “circumvented procedural requirements that enable residents to speak and be heard,” referring to the legally required 45-day comment period for a governmental regulation.
Clavin’s filing came three days after Hochul re-launched the congestion-pricing program, which would require operators of passenger vehicles traveling south of 60th Street in Manhattan to pay a one-day $9 charge. This marked a 40 percent drop from the initial cost of $15 before the plan was paused in June, after state officials voiced concerns over the financial burden the initiative would impose on commuters.
Town of Hempstead attorney Josh Liebman argued that it was an entirely new law that should be subjected to a renewed public comment period.
A phone call to Liebman seeking comment about the dismissal and schedule confusion has yet to be returned.
The story will be updated if necessary.
