Flanked by a number of state and local officials as well as other stakeholders in Fort Lee who are pushing back against the controversial congestion pricing plan that is on track to take effect in New York City as early as the spring, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th District, announced a lawsuit Nov. 1 that aims “to stop the congestion tax plan in its tracks.”

As NJBIZ has reported, the fight over the plan to charge drivers anywhere from $9 to $23 a day to enter the area south of 60th Street in Manhattan has ratcheted up in recent weeks and months as the federal government cleared the scheme to move forward, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board has held meetings to help shape the toll pricing structure.

On the Jersey side, lawmakers and officials have dug in in response, with the governor filing a lawsuit in July against the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to block what it described as the “ill-conceived congestion pricing plan.”

As that lawsuit continues to play out, the class action suit announced Wednesday by Gottheimer brings the fight to the local level.

Filed against the USDOT and FHWA as well as the MTA, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, and Traffic Mobility Review Board, the case argues that congestion pricing will result in more truck and car traffic near the George Washington Bridge and nearby communities because drivers will try to avoid the toll at Lincoln and Holland tunnels – causing an increase in pollution.

The plaintiffs include Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and Richard Galler, a Fort Lee resident and commuter who suffers from asthma.

Nagel Rice LLP is representing the plaintiffs on the lawsuit, which calls for:

• An immediate stop to congestion pricing;
• A full and proper environmental study from the DOT that includes the impact on the Garden State;
• And – if the court does not stop congestion pricing – New York must provide funding for a medical monitoring program to evaluate and treat respiratory distress and asthma that results from it.

“Think about everyone you know, including children with asthma and grandparents with other breathing and health problems – they will all suffer because of New York’s cash-grabbing $23 per day congestion tax,” said Gottheimer. “Our families will be lining up at the doctors’ offices, while the MTA lines their pockets with our dollars.”

“Because of this initiative, by their own admission, we’re hearing that we run the risk of an additional 20% traffic at this bridge and with that comes pollutants, filth and dirt,” said Sokolich. “It impacts everybody in my borough and the region.”

“We all believe that congestion pricing is going to the traffic in Fort Lee and will add to pollution,” said Galler. “My doctor explained to me that when air pollution is increased, it is like adding a cigarette to your day.”

“This congestion pricing will wreak havoc on the citizens of New Jersey and we will do everything we can to legally stop it,” said Attorney Bruce Nagel.

“We certainly aren’t going to sit back as New York plans to poison our families’ air,” Gottheimer continued. “For now, the MTA continues to meet in New York to discuss how badly they’re planning to stick it to New Jersey – without any input from us. They continue to release new tolling scenario after new scenario, which do nothing to actually help our families. Now, they’ll have to answer to the Mayor, Rich, and other Jersey families whose health will be greatly damaged by the congestion tax – under the legal leadership of Bruce Nagel.”

“It’s Gottheimer Groundhog Day and – shocker – he wants to send more traffic and more pollution to New York,” said MTA Chief, Policy and External Relations John McCarthy, in a statement responding to the lawsuit. “News flash: Manhattan is already full of vehicles, and we don’t need more carbon emissions. So, congestion pricing needs to move forward for less traffic, safer streets, cleaner air, and huge improvements to mass transit.”

The USDOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Do not expect the heated rhetoric to tamp down anytime soon as this hot-button issue continues to play out between New Jersey and New York in real-time here. Buckle up.