And the fight continues.
As The Courier Sun went to press, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was hosting simultaneous public hearings – one in Flushing and one in Staten Island – to let the people voice their opinions on the so-called “Doomsday Budget” cuts.
One topic – the elimination of the Resident Rebate Program for the Cross Bay Bridge ¬– is sure to get heated.
“I have a lot of people very hurt,” said Democratic District Leader Lew Simon, who has been fighting the toll for at least a decade and arranged for busing to bring people to the forum. “We’re all one – Broad Channel shares schools, a post office, even a church with Rockaway.”
The rebate program, implemented in 1998, means that residents of the Rockaway Peninsula and Broad Channel are reimbursed $1.13 each time they cross the bridge using E-Z Pass. The toll charge is credited back to residents using MTA funds that come from the State Mortgage Recording Tax.
It was in May of last year that the MTA decided to keep the rebate; however, in July, the tolls for the Cross Bay Bridge increased. Those paying cash now pay a quarter more – $2.75; non-residential E-Z Pass users pay $1.71, up from $1.55; and Rockaway resident tokens went up from $1.40 to $1.54. Even the rebated toll increased at the time, from $1.03.
According to Joyce Mulvaney, spokesperson for MTA Bridges and Tunnels, in 2009, the MTA spent $3.9 million on the rebate program, with toll revenue for the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge at $12.7 million.
But, with the agency facing an $800 million deficit, she said, “things are dire.”
“The MTA is forced to consider such difficult choices as eliminating the Cross Bay Bridge Resident Rebate Program because of a major budget shortfall due to state cuts and revenue loss,” said Mulvaney. “It’s important to note that eligible residents with E-ZPass will still pay less than non-resident E-ZPass tag holders even without the rebate.”
She noted that the MTA Board must approve the action before the rebate is discontinued. If this is the case, it will probably go into effect this summer.
“Things are still not definite one way or the other,” said Mulvaney, “and this is why we hold public hearings. The Board is up there listening.”
However, Simon told The Courier that it has been a “secretive campaign” by the MTA. He noted that the bridge is the only span in the city that charges to go within the same borough, and is calling for all Queens residents to cross for free.
If the rebate is, in fact, rescinded, Simon said that “Howard Beach will be hit the hardest.”
“Rockaway people shop and eat in Howard Beach,” he continued. “This is really going to hurt the economy – it may even affect Aqueduct, because residents won’t want to cross [the bridge] and pay the toll.”
