Attorneys for the federal authorities mentioned in courtroom Wednesday that Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is “still evaluating his options” for what comes subsequent if the MTA doesn’t shut down congestion pricing by his Easter Sunday deadline.
“The Department of Transportation maintains the position that New York City should stop charging tolls by April 20,” Assistant U.S. Lawyer Dominika Tarczynska mentioned throughout a pre-trial convention in Manhattan federal courtroom — incorrectly figuring out town and never the state because the entity in control of New York’s congestion toll.
“The secretary, however, is still evaluating what DOT’s options are if New York City does not comply,” she continued. “There has been no final decision as to what, if anything, will occur on April 20.”
The listening to was the most recent within the MTA’s swimsuit alleging that Duffy’s February order that New York state finish it’s $9 congestion toll is unconstitutional.
Tarczynska’s replace got here days after courtroom filings indicated the DOT’s attorneys had instructed their MTA counterparts that they didn’t plan on requesting an emergency pause to this system ought to the transit company ignore the arbitrary April 20 deadline to show off the tolling introduced by Duffy on social media final month.
MTA officers and Gov. Hochul have repeatedly mentioned the toll — which is required by state regulation — will stay in place barring a courtroom order on the contrary.
“We have no further updates beyond what is in [the filing],” Tarczynska mentioned Wednesday.
However whereas Duffy’s lawyer mentioned in federal courtroom that he was nonetheless evaluating his choices, the U.S. DOT’s press employees took a distinct tack within the courtroom of public opinion.
“Make no mistake,” U.S. DOT flacks wrote in an offended tweet Tuesday, “the Trump Administration and [DOT] will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal in response to non-compliance later this month,” insisting that, “simple agreements on judicial timelines have no bearing on the underlying merits of our case or our position.”
However the feds’ crime claims — which Duffy has repeatedly used to threaten the $2 billion a yr the MTA will get from the federal authorities — are false.
In a submitting forward of Wednesday’s listening to, MTA lawyer Roberta Kaplan mentioned the DOT’s tweet “appears to disregard the whole point of asking the parties to agree on a comprehensive schedule,” a standard pre-trial observe.
“The MTA plaintiffs have been clear from the beginning that they will ‘continue to operate the Program as required by New York law until and unless [the MTA is] directed to stop by a court order,’” Kaplan continued.
“If the federal defendants plan to take unilateral action to alter the status quo, then they should be required to let us know what they intend to do and when they intend to do it so that the parties and the Court can set an appropriate briefing schedule,” she wrote.
Choose Lewis Liman requested Tarczynska Wednesday if he was appropriate in understanding that “there’s no action that is imminent” from the DOT.
“No final decision has been made,” Tarczynska mentioned.
On the finish of the transient listening to Wednesday, Liman appeared to remind the events to be on their finest conduct.
“You’re all professionals,” the decide mentioned. “I look forward to a professional experience throughout this.”
