Three civil rights organizations and 18 elected officials representing Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens, along with Suffolk, Orange, Dutchess, Rockland, Sullivan, Delaware, Otsego, and Ulster Counties, have joined as co-plaintiffs in the congestion pricing lawsuit filed by the United Federation of Teachers and Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. 

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, "We are happy to welcome these groups and elected officials from the city, state, and federal levels to this lawsuit. We are determined to challenge the current regressive and discriminatory plan for congestion pricing; as now constituted, it will only succeed in moving traffic and pollution from one part of the city to another, even as it increases the economic burden on working- and middle-class communities." 

"We wish to thank Mike Mulgrew and the UFT, as well as the other plaintiffs in our effort to stop congestion in its tracks," said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. 

"As we have said time and time again, congestion pricing is a detriment to those that will be affected by this toll, environmentally and financially, and for people of all walks of life from across the five boroughs and beyond. We appreciate the support from elected officials and interested groups, as this fight cannot be won by any one of us alone," Fossella said. 

The original lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on January 4, 2024. The case has been assigned to Judge Diane Gujarati. 

The additional plaintiffs include: 

Groups: 

The A. Philip Randolph Institute 
The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists 
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement 

Elected officials: 

Joseph Borelli, New York City Council Member 
Karl Brabenec, New York State Assembly Member 
David Carr, New York City Council Member 
Iwen Chu, New York State Senator 
Christopher Eachus, New York State Assembly Member 
Aileen Gunther, New York State Assembly Member 
Kamillah Hanks, New York City Council Member 
Andrew Lanza, New York State Senator 
Brian Maher, New York State Assembly Member 
Nicole Malliotakis, U.S Congress Member 
Monica Martinez, New York State Senator 
Michael Reilly, New York State Assembly Member 
Rob Rolison, New York State Senator 
Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, New York State Senator 
James Skoufis, New York State Senator 
Michael Tannousis, New York State Assembly Member 
David Weprin, New York State Assembly Member 
Jamie Williams, New York State Assembly Member 

See below for excerpts from the filings of the additional plaintiffs. 

The A. Philip Randolph Institute (“APRI”), headquartered in Washington, DC, is an organization for African American trade unionists and a senior constituency group of the AFL-CIO, representing workers of color in their fight for racial equality and economic justice. Congestion Pricing may improve traffic in Manhattan, but it will do so at the environmental and financial expense of those living outside Manhattan. Many of the workers represented by the APRI live in the outer boroughs and have to commute to work daily. Some represented by the APRI make minimum wage and cannot afford the new $15 expense to drive to work. 

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (“CBTU”), headquartered in Washington, DC, is an AFL-CIO constituency group representing members from seventy-seven international and national unions with forty-two chapters across the country, whose mission is to achieve economic, political, and social justice for its members. CBTU is part of the growing environmental justice movement that empowers community-based organizations to identify harmful or discriminatory conditions, mobilize their constituencies, and resolve local environmental health problems. Many low-income communities and people of color suffer a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards and health problems associated with poor quality air, water, and toxic exposure…Traffic congestion, parking, and fuel emission issues and their long-term impact would be shouldered by the outer-borough communities. 

The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (“LCLAA”), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an organization dedicated to advancing the rights and well-being of Latino workers and their families. LCLAA aims to address issues of social and economic justice, advocating for fair working conditions and policies that benefit the Latino community. LCLAA has also consistently stood by communities facing environmental injustices. Congestion Pricing is likely to hurt members of LCLAA’s New York chapter, particularly those living in disadvantaged communities in the outer boroughs, with severe health challenges and limited access to healthcare, who will see increased traffic, parking, and air pollution, which would exacerbate existing health issues. LCLAA firmly believes that the outer boroughs should be regarded with equal importance to Manhattan in environmental decision-making and that an EIS and hearings in all outer boroughs should be held to ensure that LCLAA members and their communities are fully considered and that their voices are heard. 

Elected officials: 

Joseph Borrelli is a resident of the State of New York and City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York City Council Member, representing the 51st Council District, which covers the South Shore of Staten Island. Congestion Pricing will cost residents of the 51st District more money to travel to and from work daily and they will be forced to endure increased pollution caused by the influx of diverted traffic of drivers avoiding the Congestion Pricing toll. 

Karl Brabenec is a resident of the State of New York, Orange County, and is a New York State Assembly Member, representing the 98th Assembly District, which covers parts of Orange and Rockland Counties. Residents from the 98th District commute to New York City for work on a daily basis and the proposed Congestion Pricing will disproportionately burden them with additional commuting costs. The measure would place an undue strain on Brabenec and his constituents, who lack other public transit options, affecting their daily lives and economic well-being. 

David Carr is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York City Council Member, representing the 50th Council District, which encompasses Staten Island’s mid-island neighborhoods and a portion of southwestern Brooklyn. Congestion Pricing will cause traffic to be rerouted through Staten Island, as commuters avoid lower Manhattan and drive and park in Staten Island. Air quality will worsen for Carr and his constituents and Staten Island already ranks among the worst areas for health events and deaths attributable to fine particles (PM 2.5) and ozone exposure. The only areas of air quality where Staten Island does not find itself in the bottom third for air quality are areas related to fuel emissions, traffic, and outdoor air pollutants and toxins. The rerouted traffic from Congestion Pricing will impair air quality in those areas as well. Certain areas of southern Brooklyn currently rate equal or near equal to lower Manhattan in every measured pollutant. Shifting lower Manhattan's traffic to a primarily residential borough creates the likelihood that there will be areas in Brooklyn with even worse air quality than the current air quality in Lower Manhattan. 

Iwen Chu is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Kings County, and is a New York State Senator, representing the 17th Senate District, which includes the neighborhoods of Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Kensington, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Gravesend. Chu and her constituents live in southern Brooklyn, which continues to be a transit desert for families and residents. Subway stops are nearly a mile away for many and, even then, unreliable service and lack of accessibility for residents with disabilities and strollers make driving into the Central Business District by car the only viable option. Congestion Pricing does not offer sufficient protections or access for Chu and her constituents. 

Christopher Eachus is a resident of the State of New York, Orange County, and is a New York State Assembly Member, representing the 99th Assembly District, which includes towns in Orange County and Stony Point. Eachus was also a former educator for 40 years in both public and private schools in New York. Congestion Pricing will directly and unjustly harm Eachus and his constituents needing to commute to work in the 99th District; teachers, nurses, and many others of Eachus’s constituents will be burdened with a large fee on top of already expensive tolls, making it hard to sustain jobs on their current salaries. There is a severe lack of public transportation to New York City in Eachus’s region, making it difficult to find alternate transportation routes. All indications from the MTA suggest that the fees generated by Congestion Pricing will largely circulate into the New York City subway system, not towards highly needed upgrades to Metro North and the Port Jervis Line, which Eachus and his constituents rely upon. Congestion Pricing adds a financial burden in the district, in a time of already difficult financial times. 

Aileen Gunther is a resident of the State of New York, Sullivan County, and is a New York State Assembly Member, representing the 100th Assembly District, which includes large parts of Orange and Sullivan Counties. Gunther represents thousands of commuters, including many who relocated to Orange and Sullivan County during the COVID-19 pandemic but still need to commute to New York City on a regular basis. The fact-tracked tolling program – the main component of which was only determined after the review process had purportedly concluded – would have a significant and long-term financial impact on the many working and middle-class residents of Orange and Sullivan Counties, including Gunther, with no concomitant benefit to their quality of life. 

Kamillah Hanks is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York City Council Member, representing the 49th Council District, which covers the Northern Shore of Staten Island. The financial and environmental impact of Congestion Pricing, especially in Environmental Justice Areas like the North Shore of Staten Island, is injurious to Hanks and her constituents. Staten Islanders lack viable public transportation alternatives to navigate the challenge of Congestion Pricing. Introducing an additional financial burden will disproportionately impact working families, who often have little choice but to drive to Manhattan for employment. Congestion Pricing will also contribute to increased air pollution in Staten Island, exacerbating environmental concerns facing Staten Island residents. 

Andrew J. Lanza is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York State Senator, representing the 24th Senate District, which covers a significant portion of Staten Island, including the southernmost point in all of New York State. Congestion pricing will force Lanza and his constituents to endure even more traffic on Staten Island and breathe even more polluted air. 

Brian Maher is a resident of the State of New York, Orange County, and is a New York State Assembly Member, representing the 101st Assembly District, which covers parts of Delaware, Orange, Otsego, Ulster, and Sullivan Counties. The Hudson Valley is home to a large number of residents who commute to New York City, including police officers, firefighters, nurses, teachers, union workers, and countless other hard-working New Yorkers who make up the backbone of the State. These workers already find themselves on tight budgets, currently paying high tolls for the bridges and tunnels they use to get into the City. Congestion Pricing charges an additional cost and hurts many, including Assemblyman Maher and his constituents in his District. 

Nicole Malliotakis is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Richmond County, and is a United States Congresswoman, representing the 11th Congressional District, which encompasses Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. Congresswoman Malliotakis believes that the level of study conducted under the EA process to date has been insufficient and that further study, analysis, and mitigation proposals are necessary before Congestion Pricing should proceed. A full and thorough EIS needs to be conducted to meet the requirements of NEPA and study the impact on her and her constituents, as projects of far less consequence and less apparent environmental impact – such as the Federal Railroad Administration’s recent EIS for the “Western Rail Yard” project in Manhattan – have been afforded a full and complete EIS analysis, while this program of tremendous consequence for an entire region has been pushed through at maximum speed with only an EA. 

Monica Martinez is a resident of the State of New York, Suffolk County, and is a New York State Senator, representing the 4th Senate District, which includes portions of Brentwood and Deer Park on Long Island. Congestion Pricing directly impacts Martinez and her constituents who need to drive to work in Manhattan and do not have ready access to alternative modes of transportation. The $15 toll being charged places an undue burden on Long Island workers and business owners, including those in Martinez’s district, who cannot shoulder the extra cost of funding the MTA, particularly when they will not benefit from the MTA’s capital program or balanced budget. The toll may also discourage customers from returning to businesses in the City, impacting the post-pandemic recovery. 

Michael Reilly is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York State Assemblyman, representing the 62nd Assembly District, which encompasses part of Staten Island’s South Shore. Reilly represents some 150,000 constituents, including himself, who will be forced to pay a new large toll on top of already significant amounts in tolls when traveling to the City while seeing little to no benefit from the tax. 

Rob Rolison is a resident of the State of New York, Dutchess County, and is a New York State Senator, representing New York’s 39th Senate District, which is located in the Hudson Valley and includes much of Orange County and parts of Rockland and Ulster Counties. Congestion Pricing will function as a tax on middle-class commuters, like Rolison and his constituents, who travel to New York City from the Hudson Valley and have no other viable public transit options. 

Jessica Scarcella-Spanton is a resident of the State of New York and City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York State Senator, representing New York’s 23rd Senate District, which encompasses most of the North Shore of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. Congestion Pricing unfairly places an additional burden on the people of Senate District 23, including Senator Scarcella-Spanton, who already shoulder the weight of two tolls, and now face an extra $15 travel fee to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. In addition to the financial burden, Congestion Pricing also presents a significant health threat to Senator Scarcella-Spanton and her constituents, causing heightened traffic pollution and harming air quality in Staten Island. 

James Skoufis is a resident of the State of New York, Orange County, and is a New York State Senator, representing New York’s 42nd Senate District, which covers nearly all of Orange County, including all of the southern and western portions of the County. Skoufis and his constituents live within the MTA region and pay similar, if not identical MTA fees and taxes as other, highly serviced areas, yet they only have one sporadically-run train line for the over 400,000 residents in the County. (The train does not terminate in New York City; it runs to Secaucus and Hoboken in New Jersey and a separate train must then be taken to arrive in Penn Station.) Supporters of Congestion Pricing state that the intent is to shift people’s commuting behavior onto public transit; for Skoufis and his constituents, this outcome is unrealistic and punitive, given the lack of viable transit options. Skoufis and many of his constituents will need to continue to drive – and, under the proposed plan, pay an additional $15 toll on top of the nearly $15 toll at the George Washington Bridge – due to the lack of viable transit alternatives. 

Michael Tannousis is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Richmond County, and is a New York State Assemblyman, representing the 64th Assembly District, which covers the East Shore of Staten Island and Bay Ridge Brooklyn, including the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Congestion Pricing will add to the already high costs of transportation for Tannousis and his constituents, and increase traffic and pollution in Staten Island. 

David Weprin is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Queens County, and is a New York State Assembly Member, representing the 24th Assembly District in Queens, and formerly a member of the New York City Council. His constituents are directly impacted by Congestion Pricing, as the district is a “transit desert.” Senior citizens, the disabled, small business owners, and middle-class families in the district cannot afford the latest tax to fund the MTA. Congestion Pricing will also impact businesses across New York City, including in the 24th Assembly District, forcing them to shut down or pass on the costs to the consumer while New Yorkers are still recovering from the economic effects of COVID-19. 

Jamie Williams is a resident of the State of New York and the City of New York, Kings County, and is a New York State Assembly Member, representing the 59th Assembly District, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Bergen Beach, and Gerritsen Beach. Williams and her constituents live in a “transit desert” community and Congestion Pricing will impose a significant cost with few viable public transit alternatives. Congestion Pricing also offers few exemptions, for example failing to provide financial relief for residents in Brooklyn seeking medical treatment in Manhattan.