Kramer Levin Files Amicus Briefs on Behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund, 17 Other Groups and Six Individuals Supporting Congestion Pricing for New York City

On Aug. 23, 2024, Kramer Levin filed motions for leave to submit amicus briefs in two cases on behalf of 18 environmental, transportation and public interest groups and six individuals, including the Environmental Defense Fund, the New York League of Conservation Voters, Transportation Alternatives, Congressman Jerry Nadler and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. The proposed briefs support the congestion pricing program for New York City (the Program) that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had planned to launch in 2024 and oppose Gov. Kathy Hochul’s June 5, 2024, decision to “indefinitely pause” implementation of the Program.

The motions and proposed briefs were filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, in City Club of New York et al. v. Hochul et al., No. 156696/2024, and Riders Alliance et al. v. Hochul et al., No. 156711/2024.

Plaintiffs have filed suit to challenge Gov. Hochul’s eleventh-hour decision to block the Program from going into effect, arguing her failure to enact congestion pricing violates New York State law.

Kramer Levin’s proposed amicus briefs make 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 Program would have improved the quality of life for millions of people in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut region. Second, Gov. Hochul’s decision to indefinitely pause implementation of the Program ignored the years of extensive analysis and public comments on which the Program was based. And third, the success of similar congestion pricing programs in other cities and their surrounding areas around the world demonstrates that the Program would have reduced congestion and improved public health.

The briefs are available here.

Kramer Levin filed amicus briefs on behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund and other groups in State of New Jersey v. United States Department of Transportation, et al., No. 23 Civ. 038835, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and New York in Chan et al. v. United States Department of Transportation, et al., No. 23-cv-10365, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.