The U.S. Department of Transportation yesterday said it took the extraordinary step of replacing the federal lawyers defending it in a lawsuit over New York City’s congestion pricing program, after accusing them of undermining the department’s bid to end the toll. Stefanos Chen and Benjamin Weiser report in THE NY TIMES that the move came after the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District, which had been handling the case, said it mistakenly filed in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday night a confidential memo that questioned the department’s legal strategy and urged a new approach.

In response, however, the department raised the possibility that the disclosure attempted to sabotage its efforts to halt congestion pricing. Transportation officials said they would transfer the case to the civil division of the Justice Department in Washington. The memo has since been removed from the public docket.

In the letter, dated April 11, the three assistant U.S. attorneys on the case warned that Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, was using a shaky rationale to end the tolling plan and was “exceedingly likely” to fail, the lawyers wrote.

The existence of the document was reported earlier by Streetsblog. It’s not unusual for lawyers to advise their clients confidentially in this way. But the filing telegraphed the government’s legal weaknesses in the middle of a tense fight with Gov. Kathy Hochul and transit leaders who have vowed to keep the tolling program running.

In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Transportation called the filing of the memo “legal malpractice.” “Are S.D.N.Y. lawyers on this case incompetent or was this their attempt to RESIST?” a spokeswoman for the department wrote.

Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said in a statement that the filing “was a completely honest error and was not intentional in any way.” He said that the Southern District lawyers took immediate steps to remove the memo, which is subject to attorney-client privilege, from the docket.

Transit leaders in New York have promised to keep congestion pricing in place, saying it has helped ease traffic and raised much-needed funds for mass transit including the L.I.R.R.

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PSEG Long Island says it earned 68.5% of its potential $22.9 million bonus for 2024, totaling $15.74 million, after a reduction in performance metrics from 93 in 2023 to 52 in 2024. The company scored higher in power supply and clean energy (98%) and electric transmission and distribution (73.2%), but missed key metrics in system reliability, safety, and IT system segregation. PSEG's performance report is under review by Long Island Power Authority and the NYS Department of Public Service, with a final decision on the bonus expected in mid-June. Mark Harrington reports in NEWSDAY that PSEG’s report card for 2024 comes as LIPA’s board is debating whether to turn over control of the management of the electric grid to Houston-based Quanta Services or PSEG. Some on the LIPA board are said to be pushing for PSEG to be awarded the contract, even though Quanta reportedly received high scores from LIPA staff. The LIPA board is meeting in private on Monday to further discuss the contract.

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Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Southampton will celebrate a Mass of remembrance for Pope Francis this evening at 7pm. Pastor Mike Vetrano invites you to join the parish in prayer at this vigil Mass. Pope Francis’s funeral Mass in Rome is scheduled for tomorrow morning in St Peter’s Square.

The Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church at 168 Hill Street in Southampton Village. It is also a parish church of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The Gothic Revival-style edifice was completed in 1908. The exterior is covered in white marble. Pope Benedict XVI...