12 APRIL 18, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Why pay for the Cross Bay Bridge?
Queens residents got a bit of good
news last week when the MTA
and several local lawmakers
announced that all drivers in the
“World’s Borough” would receive a
rebate to travel the Cross Bay Veterans
Memorial Bridge beginning in 2020.
That’s great news indeed. But drivers
still have to pay out the toll at fi rst,
then get refunded later. It’s an exercise
in absurdity.
Why do we need a toll on the Cross
Bay Bridge at all?
Currently, only drivers who live
in the Rockaways or Broad Channel
— the two communities which are
directly connected by this span — are
eligible for a substantial discount on
the two-way toll.
That the MTA continues to think
that anyone should pay to go from
one part of Queens to another is
utter nonsense.
The Cross Bay Bridge isn’t a cash
cow for the authority; the tolls are
about half of what they charge for
other crossings within the MTA
system. Subsequently, the revenue it
generates — about $19 million a year,
according to recent reports — is a
EDITORIAL
drop in the MTA’s bucket, and could
easily be replaced through internal
cost savings and additional funds
from the city and state.
Moreover, the Cross Bay Bridge
is not exactly a grandiose, highmaintenance
span that requires
consistent upkeep that would warrant
toll revenue. It’s a glorifi ed, utilitarian
overpass spanning Jamaica Bay.
Meanwhile, the state is pouring
billions of dollars into building
two beautiful, cable-stayed spans
to replace the Kosciuszko Bridge
between Brooklyn and Queens — and
even that isn’t being tolled! (By the
way, the Kosciuszko Bridge should
never be tolled — the traffi c on it is
taxing enough for drivers.)
The toll on the Cross Bay Bridge,
as lawmakers like state Senator
Joe Addabbo have rightly pointed
out through the years, has served
only as a barrier toward economic
development on the Rockaway
Peninsula. The additional costs
resulting from the bridge tolls serve
as a disincentive toward growing
businesses and jobs.
Bridges are built to overcome
divisions, and yet the Cross Bay
Bridge toll’s most powerful impact is
to keep Queens and the Rockaways
virtually divided. Queens and the
Rockaways are one borough. Let’s
fi nally make that an economic reality
recognized for everyone.
We urge the MTA to eliminate the
Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
toll once and for all. Tear down
the toll barriers and make it free
for everyone.
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
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ROBERT POZARYCKI
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DEBORAH CUSICK
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MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
EMILY DAVENPORT
MARK HALLUM
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BILL PARRY
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Moving Target? Community board
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SUMMARY:
The question is up in the air as to
whether Target’s Elmhurst store
will relocate aft er it was announced
at the Community Board 4 meeting
the corporation has its eye on space
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