Senator Chuck Schumer and Congressmember Anthony Weiner have reintroduced legislation that would protect the toll discounts for residents of Broad Channel and Rockaway.
The Cross Bay Veteran’s Memorial Bridge connects Broad Channel with the Rockaway Peninsula and is often traversed multiple times daily by residents in the area.
The bridge, which opened in 1939, is the only intraborough bridge that charges a toll. Residents are currently charged $1.19 for their first two trips (one round trip) and can cross free of charge on any subsequent trips throughout the day. Non-residents are charged $3.25 ($1.80 for E-ZPass) for each trip.
The bill, The Residential and Commuter Toll Fairness Act of 2011, would clarify the existing authority of local governments to grant toll discounts based on residence while providing Congressional authorization for discount programs.
“With many Rockaway residents unfairly forced to pay the City’s only intra-borough toll every time they go to the grocery store, the least we can do is ensure that they continue to get discounts,” Weiner said. “This legislation will do just that.”
Without residential discounts Schumer said Rockaway and Broad Channel residents would face some of the most expensive commutes in the country.
“Local residents rely on these toll discounts to make their daily trips across the bridge affordable,” said Schumer.
This legislation is in response to Selevan v. New York Thruway Authority that alleged that called toll discounts “unconstitutional.” A judge in Rhode Island recently announced he would issue a written ruling in a similar case that would eliminate toll discounts.
Schumer and Weiner – along with Congressmembers Michael Grimm and Gregory Meeks – said that these discounts do not look to discriminate against people who do not receive the discounts, but to avoid putting to great a financial burden on the residents.
Without the discount, residents could face hundreds to thousands of dollars more a year in tolls traveling to and from their homes.
For residents of Broad Channel, a small island in Jamaica Bay, crossing the bridge is often unavoidable to obtain many basic necessities. Doctors, schools and larger stores are usually on the other side of the bridge. And for the many residents of Rockaway who do not work on the peninsula, they, too, must pass the toll booth each day.
Until last July, residents in six area zip codes were rebated the toll for every trip across the bridge. Rebated tolls were ended due to the dire financial straits the MTA faced, said a spokesperson for the agency. The rebates cost $3.4 million a year, so a compromise was reached to charge a discounted fare for the first two trips, with each subsequent fare being free.
The MTA had no comment on the possible elimination of the discount program, saying it is federal legislation.
