Well, that controversial congestion pricing plan for New York City is a go.

Today, getting the official green light from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board to charge a new $15 toll for passenger cars driving into the heart of Manhattan, making it the first city in the nation to adopt congestion pricing aimed at reducing traffic and pollution and to raise about $1,000,000,000 a year for New York's public transit system.

But will a pending federal lawsuit brought by groups from this side of the river stop it in its tracks?

Ted Goldberg reports.

Congestion pricing has been approved and will start affecting new Jersey drivers in mid-June unless a lawsuit stops it in its tracks.

The more exemptions, the higher the base toll.

And we wanted to keep the base toll as low as we possibly could.

The more exemptions that we grant, the more or recommend, the more people who don't get exemptions feel that they were left out.

The MTA voted to approve congestion pricing today with few exemptions and only a $5 discount for New Jerseyans entering Manhattan through the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels.

They heard an earful from people before voting to authorize a $15 charge for cars entering Manhattan at or below 60 at Street for most of the day.

This is the day that the MTA has officially said to the yellow cab industry that you do not have a right to exist on the streets of New York City.

The MTA argues congestion pricing is necessary to reduce traffic, help the environment and make more stations accessible.

But New Jersey leaders were furious, with some even mentioning the dreaded B.

Word the emergency vehicles that can't get through.

I mean, we lived that through, you know, Chris Christie and Bridgegate.

I don't want to live that again.

New Jersey is suing to prevent congestion pricing.

And Bergen County has signed on.

County executive Jim Tedesco says the MTA should have waited to implement congestion pricing until the lawsuit was resolved.

This is just rushing it through where they didn't have to do that.

They've they they've got a date in their mind.

And they said, to hell with everybody else.

We are the worst run mass transit system in the entire nation.

They're bleeding billions of dollars a year and they're looking for anyone to pay to help pay their bills for their complete mismanagement.

Count Congressman Josh Gottheimer as another leader angry about congestion pricing.

It's going to lead to more truck traffic at the G.W.

Bridge.

They admitted to that cancer causing pollution will be blooming into northern New Jersey.

The GWB is in his district.

Gottheimer says traffic will get a lot worse on the world's busiest bridge unless public support makes the MTA change its mind.

Or that lawsuit is successful.

They obviously don't care about other people.

They don't care.

But people have got to work hard to try to make ends meet.

They don't care about the nurse or the small business.

But not everybody was furious after today's vote.

In order to reduce traffic, you have to have fewer number of trips.

Right?

So, yes, it's incentivizing people to use public transit to walk to bike when they can.

Kate Slevin is the executive vice president of the Regional Planning Association.

And she hopes congestion pricing will lead to more people using mass transit.

Well, not everybody can use mass transit to get where they need to go.

Slevin hopes state and federal governments take this opportunity to invest in mass transit.

We're very much in support of additional transit funding across the board.

You know, investing in the core of the system is really important for the future of our region.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Ted Goldberg.