FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com MARCH 19, 2015 • THE QUEENS COURIER 39 SNAPS QUEENS “The Mets are younger and more hungry. Plus, they have six starting pitchers.” Anthony Hassan Astoria resident Kelsey Garrett bonds with a pet bird she found in her neighborhood Photo submitted by Katrina Medoff Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us via our Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@queenscourier.com. “The Yankees, just based on their track record.” Brooke Astaria “The Yankees. They will always be my team.” Dominick Papasio “I’m generally indifferent. I don’t see the point, philosophically, of baseball nowadays. Chess is my sport.” Emilio Velez “The Yankees. They are the best team in baseball history and always overcome the odds.” William Landon “The Mets, as long as Matt Harvey comes back healthy.” Danielle Cazilas oped street talk “The Mets. I’m rooting for Michael Cuddyer to make an impact.” Brian Cornil “Both teams are boring. The Phillies are going to win it all.” Luciano Lamour VISIT QueensCourier.com FOR MORE STORIES BY ROSS BELSKY Who do you think has the better chance of making the playoffs this season: the Mets or the Yankees? Taking a stand against congestion pricing BY ASSEMBLYMAN MIKE MILLER Rumors of congestion pricing have been circling since the early days of Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, and I want to take a moment to discuss reasons for my opposition to the congestion pricing plan. The proposal would implement tolls on all of the city’s free bridges to fi ll a $15 billion defi cit in the MTA’s capital budget. Under the plan, seven bridges will get lower tolls and drivers on the city’s free bridges would pay $5.54 each way with E-ZPass. However, as New Yorkers, we are entirely too intelligent to believe that tolls would be added to the East River crossings and not be subjected to the constant increases that the other bridges currently face. It seems that every time we cross these bridges or tunnels that have existing tolls, the tolls have increased 50 cents here or a dollar there. Hardworking New Yorkers already pay enough in taxes and the ever-growing fares for the subways and buses make it diffi cult for the average citizen to even travel to and from work. Practically speaking, the congestion pricing would add just another tax on the already over-burdened small businesses throughout New York City that rely on these crossings for deliveries. Let me make the most obvious argument I can: If a delivery company that delivers to our local small business now faces additional tolls whenever a delivery is to be made, then the cost of deliveries will be increased for the small business owner, which will cause store prices to increase. Even New Yorkers who do not drive over these bridges will feel the impact of this proposal if implemented. I stand fi rm with my constituents and many other New Yorkers that this congestion pricing proposal is a mistake for New York City and should not be implemented. As always, if you have any questions about these laws or any other community issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me at millermg@assembly.state.ny.us or 718-805-0950. Assemblyman Mike Miller represents the 38th Assembly District, which includes all or parts of Glendale, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood and Woodhaven.
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