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Well, we all thought we'd ring out 2025 with a ruling by federal Judge Lewis Liman telling the Trump administration that congestion pricing was here to stay, but Liman (who has been in no hurry at all) delayed the whole case another month.
Lawyers for the feds and for the MTA will now return on Jan. 28 for oral arguments on both parties' motions for summary judgment — also known as beseeching the judge to rule in their favor.
We're still confident that Liman will rule in the MTA's favor, for all the reasons we've reported here, here, here and here. (That last story was illustrated by one of our favorite Streetsblog Photoshop Desk jobs of the year.)
But if you need some tea leaves, consider this: After the Trump administration sued to block congestion pricing earlier this year, the MTA sought and got a preliminary injunction because Liman said that they were likely to prevail on the merits when the case moved forward. And next month, it will. (Patch also covered.)
In other news:
As you know, we love to start the day's headlines post with a heartfelt "Thank you" to all the people who contributed to Streetsblog's December Donation Drive in the previous 24 hours: Thanks, Michael! Thanks, Jonathan! Thanks, Ken! Thanks, Patrick! Thanks, Hayden! Thanks, Jehiah! Thanks, Elizabeth! Thanks, David! And five of you (!) were so generous that you qualified for our extra special "thank you" gift this year: Your own fake Streetsblog parking placard!
WTF? A 19-year-old in a Hummer killed a pedestrian in Chelsea. (ABC7)
And a woman was killed by the driver of a private garbage truck. (NY Post, NY Times)
The Daily News had more on the stand-up scooter rider who was killed by a driver. His wife said he loved his scooter and used it to commute to work. "He didn't want a second car," she said. This is how this city treats people who want sustainable transportation options.
Gov. Hochul was asked by News4's Andrew Siff about what she says to President Trump when he says New York is a "hellhole." She says she tells him "it's full of life." She's right on this one.
Mayor Mamdani's new FDNY chief is from the emergency services side of the business. (NYDN, NY Times)
The NYPD's use of force is up 20 percent. (The City)
The Post is still horrified by the idea of a three-block car-free street party to mark Mayor Mamdani's inauguration on Jan. 1. Literally: What is the big deal?
A 10-year-old kid threw a snowball at a driver — you know, a guy surrounded by 3,000 pounds of metal — and the driver pummeled him, sending him to a hospital. (NYDN)
Brad Lander, Saru Jayaraman and Shahana Hanif want the minimum wage raised. (NYDN)
Two fantastic transit ideas — fast and free buses, and a 17-percent expansion of subway mileage — are being set up as adversaries. But they're complementary.
