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Up Close 5/12/24: MTA Chairman Janno Lieber talks congestion pricing, lawsuits to block it

ByEyewitness News and Bill Ritter

Sunday, May 12, 2024

Up Close 5/12/24: MTA Chairman Janno Lieber defends congestion pricing

MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber joins Up Close to discuss the controversial congestion pricing plan set to go into effect on June 30 and the legal battles attempting to halt it.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- In this edition of Up Close, we're joined by MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber, who discusses the controversial congestion pricing plan that's set to go into effect in less than two months.

Those who have backed congestion pricing insist the additional tolls are designed to reduce air pollution and traffic below 60th street in Manhattan.

But the cost to drivers is hefty. Cars pay $15, trucks range from $24 to $36, and you pay an extra $1.25 to ride a taxi into that area, and ride share costs are $2.50 a ride. It means billions of dollars for the MTA .

The start date is Sunday, June 30, but there are a number of lawsuits that have been filed to try to block it. The controversy isn't over, some believe.

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Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump's criminal trial continues in Lower Manhattan.

One of the star witnesses, Stormy Daniels, went into salacious details about how she says she had sex with Trump and how she received money to stay quiet.

The former president was in court listening to it all. He's still denying that he had a relationship with her.

ABC News executive editorial producer John Santucci, who has covered Trump for quite a while, joins the show.

Up Close airs Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. on Channel 7, WABC-TV in New York City.