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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, JUNE 9, 2019
State Senate passes Gounardes bill
Legislation would lower Verrazzano Bridge toll for some Brooklyn drivers
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Going to Staten Island may
soon become slightly less painful.
The state Senate passed a bill
that would reduce the toll on the
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge by
more than half for Kings County
drivers who frequently cross the
span into Richmond County.
Sponsored by Sen. Andrew
Gounardes (D–Bay Ridge), the
Senate bill passed the upper
chamber by a decisive 55–2 margin
on May 30.
The measure offers Brooklyn
drivers who cross the span 10
times per month using E-ZPass
a discounted toll of $5.50, matching
the reduced fare that Staten
Island residents already enjoy
when crossing the two-and-a-halfmile
long, double-decker bridge.
Kings County drivers passing
into Staten Island currently pay
$12.24 for the Verrazzano’s oneway
toll when using E-ZPass, and
a whopping $19 when relying on
the city’s cashless toll technology.
The bill’s passage follows an
MTA toll hike that jacked the
Verrazzano’s toll up to the second
highest in the country in March,
making it second in price only to
Virginia’s 23-miles-long Chesapeake
Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which
costs an astronomical $36 round
trip at peak hours.
All eyes now turn to Albany’s
lower house, where the bill sponsored
by Assemblywoman Mathylde
Frontus (D–Coney Island)
continues to languish committee,
although the lawmaker’s chief of
staff expressed confi dence that
the measure will pass and become
law in the wake of the Thursday’s
senate vote.
“We’re optimistic,” said Michael
Decillis. “It sailed through
the Senate, so that’s a good sign.”
The proposal mirrors the
city’s decision to eliminate the
$2.29 E-ZPass toll on the Cross
Bay Bridge for all Queens Residents
last April.
At a press event announcing
his scheme to slash the toll for
Brooklyn drivers in April, Gounardes
blasted the Verrazzano’s
exorbitant tax, which has more
than doubled since 2008.
“For the thousands of Brooklyn
residents who rely on the
bridge for travel to work, school
and medical appointments, these
outrageous rates are unaffordable,
unacceptable, and highlight
the gross inequities of New
York’s transit system,” he said.
Freshman federal Rep. Max
Rose, who represents both sides
of the bridge, applauded the state
Senate on Twitter for passing the
bill to even the fares between his
constituents.
“This is incredible news,” he
said. “We are one community,
with family and friends, jobs and
appointments on both sides of the
Verrazzano. This is a huge step
towards providing much needed
relief to so many Brooklynites.”
Should the Assembly approve
their version of the legislation, it
would go to the Governor’s desk
to be signed into law.
IT’S ONLY FARE: Legislation to reduce the fare for Brooklynites who frequently
cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge has passed the state Senate. The measure
now awaits a vote in the Assembly. Photo By Steve Solomonson