editorial 38 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 5, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SNAPS QUEENS World Ice Arena In Flushing Meadows // PHOTO BY EMMANUEL LOZADA Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). Cross off the Cross Bay toll already! There is no greater example of Queens residents being nickel-and-dimed by government more than the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge. What purpose does it serve to put a toll between two areas of the same borough other than to annoy Queens residents and bilk them out of their hard-earned money? The Cross Bay Bridge has connected drivers between Broad Channel and the Rockaways for more than 40 years in its present form. It’s the only bridge connecting Queens with the rest of the peninsula, but it’s not exactly a cash cow for the MTA. In a 2015 report, the MTA projected toll revenue from the bridge that year would be about $16.87 million. That accounts for slightly less than 1 percent of the $1.7 billion total combined projected revenue for all MTA bridges and tunnels, including the Whitestone, Throgs Neck and RFK bridges, and the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The low toll revenue for the Cross Bay refl ects the discounts and rebates the MTA provides Broad Channel and Rockaway residents who use EZPass and regularly cross the bridge to get around the area. These drivers pay $1.36 per trip across the bridge, but even at a 66 percent discount from the $4 toll that the rest of us pay, they’re paying way too much to cross it. Let’s face it, the Cross Bay Bridge is not as complex as the Triborough Bridge (a combination of three bridges under one name) or an architectural wonder like the Verrazano Bridge (which, at one time, was the longest suspension bridge in the world). The Cross Bay is a mile-long, six-lane, steel-and-concrete overpass over a narrow portion of Jamaica Bay — and it’s not so complex to maintain that it requires toll revenue on top of tax dollars already in place for infrastructure maintenance. Beyond that, the Cross Bay Bridge toll barrier is an obstacle for business and economic growth in the one area of Queens that is seriously dependent upon summer tourism. One lawmaker, Assemblyman Mike Miller, wants to extend the toll discount that Rockaway residents have to seniors in other parts of Queens. We agree with the intent, but we disagree with the concept — because there shouldn’t be a toll on the Cross Bay Bridge for anyone, regardless of age or where they happen to live. We challenge the city and the state, which have huge budgets in the tens of billions of dollars, to fi nd $17 million somewhere for the MTA to fi nally get rid of this asinine Cross Bay Bridge toll. We challenge the city and state to end this unfair tax on the Rockaways and all Queens residents! Good for the city, bad for its shoppers Speaking of being nickel-and-dimed, Queens shoppers should brace themselves for the coming grocery bag fee that the City Council is about to adopt. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced her support of a 5-cent surcharge per paper or plastic bag used to bring home groceries from stores in New York City. The speaker’s blessing signals the bill will pass the City Council overwhelmingly and be signed into law by Mayor Bill de Blasio in short order. The intent of the bill is to encourage more New Yorkers to rely on reusable shopping bags rather than opting for single-use paper or plastic. Reusable bags are, after all, more environmentally friendly, and single-use bags do take up a fair amount of the city’s waste stream. Protecting the environment and cutting back on waste are indeed noble goals, but the average shopper shouldn’t be fi scally punished for not having reusable bags at the checkout counter. They’re paying more for groceries and related taxes as it is. The nickel bag tax will add up to an undue burden on Queens shoppers, especially for those who choose to double-bag to carry heavier items home. Indeed, it may spur some Queens residents to do their grocery shopping in Nassau County, where there is no bag tax. Can Queens businesses afford to lose customers to our neighbors to the east? We don’t think so. Perhaps some shoppers will opt to pay more for paper or plastic rather than go with reusable bags. That would counteract the ultimate goal of getting New Yorkers to be more environmentally conscious at the checkout line. But it would make one thing in the city greener: the city government’s coffers. One wonders if that’s really the underlying purpose of this bill. THE QUEENS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS DIGITAL EDITOR CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA BRIANNA ELLIS KATARINA HYBENOVA CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com Entire Contents Copyright 2016 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. 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