Fort Lee mayor sues over congestion pricing

Plus: OMNY card vending machines now in 6 subway stations [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] Programming note: Starting next Thursday, We The Commuters will become On The Way, featuring original analysis or reporting each week from Gothamist and WNYC journalists who have more than a decade of combined experience covering New York's transit networks. We’ll also take questions from readers, share historical tidbits and, as always, make sure you are up-to-date on the latest transit news. You don’t need to sign up or do anything to receive On The Way, but you may notice that your inbox will now say it’s coming from "Gothamist." (If you are Gmail user, and you don’t see it in your "Primary” inbox Thursday afternoon, check your “Promotions” folder for it. Drag it to "Primary" and hit "Yes" when it asks if you want to always get it in your inbox.) --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- [Fort Lee mayor sues over congestion pricing, claims program will cause more asthma in NJ]( [Elected officials in Fort Lee stand in front of the GW Bridge. ]( The mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey filed a federal lawsuit this week aiming to block the MTA's congestion pricing program, claiming it would ultimately lead to more air pollution in North Jersey. Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said the plan to charge drivers extra for entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will lead to more drivers crossing the George Washington Bridge in order to avoid the fees. His lawsuit argues that the potential bump in traffic on the New Jersey side of the bridge would harm people in the area with respiratory diseases like asthma. If a judge doesn't stop congestion pricing — which the MTA plans to launch in the spring — the lawsuit demands that New York establish a monitoring program to "evaluate and treat respiratory distress and asthma resulting" from the program. [Read more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- More transit stories to know this week Uber and Lyft will pay their New York drivers a combined $328 million to settle claims that the companies illegally deducted taxes and fees over multiple years. The agreements, which the companies reached with the New York attorney general's office, also require the two ride-share giants to offer paid sick leave to their drivers statewide. ([Gothamist]( OMNY card vending machines are now up and running at six subway stations. The MTA said riders will still be able to use MetroCards for at least another 18 months. ([Gothamist]( Officials said two Staten Island Railway conductors were assaulted at the St. George Terminal yesterday morning. After a customer appeared to be having trouble using a MetroCard vending machine, two female conductors came over to help. The customer then punched one conductor and shoved past the other before fleeing, the MTA said. ([Gothamist]( Should New York City build a park on top of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between Dumbo and Greenpoint? Transportation officials held a community workshop this week to get input on a potential park over a sunken section of the BQE. ([Gothamist]( The redesigned McGuinness Boulevard bike lanes in Greenpoint have immediately been coopted by truck drivers looking to park. After the city compromised with pro-vehicle business interests and made the new bike lanes on the notoriously dangerous road less robust than initially imagined, both cyclists and drivers have been confused about the rules. ([Curbed]( A new public video art installation at Moynihan Train Hall just looks like an ad. The Times' critic says Joshua Frankel's "Within the crowd there is a quality" — a 42-second animation that plays on the same giant screen as ads for Lancôme and Hulu — doesn't do enough to distinguish itself as a work of public art. ([The New York Times]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🚆 --------------------------------------------------------------- Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. [Terms of Use.]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your [preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list