NJ’s $20M Plan To Counter Congestion Pricing

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey's latest effort to combat Manhattan congestion pricing is aimed at keeping workers in the Garden State — with $20 million available to businesses who qualify.

Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has vowed to keep fighting the $9 toll, which went into effect earlier this month despite a last-ditch effort from the state of New Jersey to have a judge put up a temporary roadblock against it.

The Re-Assigning In-State Employees Program (NJ RISE) is meant to encourage companies to allow New Jersey residents to either work from home or commute to an office in the Garden State, instead of going into the city.

Businesses could receive up to a $500,000 grant to reassign their New Jersey workers to local offices, which in turn keeps income tax revenue within state borders. Murphy signed legislation establishing this grant program back in 2023, his office said.

"This would not only cut down on costs and travel time for commuters, but would keep their tax dollars in New Jersey," Murphy said on Tuesday.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority began promoting the NJ RISE program this week, with billboards at the 39th Street entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, on the West Side Highway at West 155th Street, and on the Cross Bronx Expressway. More billboards, social media ads, and taxi top banners will follow in New York and North Jersey, the state said.

Murphy also sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Monday, urging him to put a halt to the $9 toll, which he called a "disaster for working and middle-class New Jersey commuters and residents."

During his campaign, Trump had also called congestion pricing "a disaster for NYC," which Murphy reminded him of in the letter.

“I welcome any opportunity to work with you and your Administration where we can find common ground," Murphy wrote.

Businesses can learn more about NJ RISE and apply here.