22 The Queens Courier • APRIL 18, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
22 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 18, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
Why pay for the Cross Bay?
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.
Th at’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
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! Photo courtesy of MTA
STORY: Moving Target? Community board chair says big-box
retailer plans to leave Elmhurst for Middle Village
SUMMARY: The question is up in the air as to whether Target’s
Elmhurst store will relocate after it was announced at the
Community Board 4 meeting the corporation has its eye on
space in Middle Village.
REACH: 16,570 people reached (as of 4/15/19)
. 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.
Th at the MTA continues to think that
anyone should pay to go from one part of
Queens to another is utter nonsense.
Th e 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
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, high-maintenance
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.)
Th e toll on the Cross Bay Bridge, as lawmakers
have rightly pointed out through the
years, has served only as a barrier toward
economic development on the Rockaway
Peninsula. Th e 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
sun
THE QUEENS
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Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
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Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
like state Senator Joe Addabbo
for everyone.
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
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NIRMAL SINGH
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CELESTE ALAMIN
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VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
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