Kramer Levin Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund and 10 Other Groups Supporting Congestion Pricing for New York City

On Dec. 15, 2023, Kramer Levin filed a motion for leave to submit an amicus brief on behalf of 11 environmental, transportation, real estate and public interest groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, the New York League of Conservation Voters and Transportation Alternatives, supporting the congestion pricing plan for New York City that the MTA hopes to launch in 2024 (the Plan).

The motion and proposed brief were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in State of New Jersey v. United States Department of Transportation, et al., No. 23 Civ. 038835.

The state of New Jersey has filed suit to block the Plan from going into effect, arguing that the United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration within the Department of Transportation should have undertaken a more thorough environmental review, including the preparation of a full environmental impact statement, before approving congestion pricing for New York City.

Kramer Levin’s proposed amicus brief makes three arguments in favor of the environmental, health, transportation, equity and accessibility, environmental justice, and positive economic and financial benefits of establishing a large-scale congestion pricing program. First, implementing the Plan would improve the quality of life for millions of people in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut region, including New Jersey commuters and members of New Jersey communities. Second, after an extensive outreach and analysis of the potential environmental justice impacts of the Plan, the MTA has committed to the mitigation of adverse impacts on communities affected by predicted traffic increases. And third, the success of similar congestion pricing programs in other cities and their surrounding areas across the world provide compelling support for the proposed Plan in Manhattan.

You can find the motion and the brief here.