State officials, Sean Duffy wrote in a letter to the governor, have ‘publicly declared that New York will continue to collect tolls in open defiance.’
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has directed New York officials to stop collecting congestion tolls in Manhattan, warning that failure to do so would cost the city major federal funding.
The federal government sends billions to New York—but we won’t foot the bill if the state continues to implement an illegal toll to backfill the budget of New York’s failing transit system. https://t.co/cm3FxGIllb
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 21, 2025
In an April 21 letter, Duffy accused the state of defying federal law by continuing to toll federally funded highways after the Trump administration rescinded the program’s approval.
“I write to warn you that the State of New York risks serious consequences if it continues to fail to comply with Federal law, and to direct New York to show cause why the Federal Highway Administration (‘FHWA’) should not impose appropriate measures to ensure compliance,” Duffy wrote in the letter addressed to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Central Business District Tolling Program, or Congestion Pricing, was authorized under a federal Value Pricing Pilot Program agreement signed in 2024 under the Biden administration. Duffy terminated that agreement on Feb. 19. He said New York was notified that congestion tolling must cease by March 21, a deadline later extended to April 20.
The state, however, has continued to operate the tolls. As of April 20, “New York has not responded to FHWA’s requests for information,” Duffy wrote, noting that state officials “have also publicly declared that New York will continue to collect tolls in open defiance of Federal law.”
Duffy’s letter directs the New York State Department of Transportation to “show cause” by May 21 as to why the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) should not impose compliance measures. These would begin as soon as May 28 and would initially include halting federal construction authorizations in Manhattan, with broader restrictions possible.
If the toll continues, Duffy said, FHWA may suspend funding for projects throughout New York City, including blocking obligations of both formula and competitive funds. Safety-related projects would be exempt.
Duffy also criticized the tolling plan itself, saying it imposes a “disproportionate financial hardship on low and medium-income hardworking American drivers” while benefiting high-income commuters and the transit system. He emphasized that there are no toll-free alternatives into the zone, which he said forces drivers either to pay or to use what he described as a “substandard transit system run by the Metropolitan Transit Authority [MTA].”
By Chase Smith
