By Tom Momberg
Transit advocates affiliated with the regional grassroots campaign, Move NY, have finalized a plan to place electronic tolls and license cameras on all bridges crossing the East River, and on 60th Street in Manhattan.
If approved by city and state governments, the plan would introduce $8 cash tolls and $5.54 E-ZPass tolls on the now free bridge crossings, and on every avenue crossing 60th Street. The plan simultaneously calls for a $1 to $2.50 toll reduction on all other bridges into Manhattan.
Supporters estimate the plan would generate an additional $1.125 billion in annual revenue, which could help fund upgrades to mass transit.
State Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows) joined other elected officials and major Queens civic groups for a news conference Sunday, expressing opposition to what’s being rebranded as a “toll swap.”
“Let’s call it what it is. It’s nothing but a renewed congestion pricing initiative,” the assemblyman said at the conference.
Weprin said the plan would put a financial burden on seniors who cannot easily ride the subway; middle-class commuters who do not have easy access to public transportation; and small business owners who must drive back and forth from Manhattan for pickups and deliveries, perhaps passing along the expense to their customers.
“The Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges have been free since they were built over 100 years ago,” Weprin said. “Once there are tolls, they won’t be going anywhere and the prices will go up over time. There is no commitment from this plan that the other tolls being lowered won’t go up again.”
The assemblyman said the “toll swap” is a regressive tax and burdens his constituents. He said he would instead favor a progressive tax on commuters and a non-residential income tax.
“We in Queens pay our fair share. We pay income and property taxes like everyone else, which in general support roads and transit,” Weprin said. “I think this plan is less about reducing congestion, and more about creating another revenue stream.”
Weprin said that even if congestion were to be reduced, there would just be congestion elsewhere as a result. He said people would then drive to the residential areas of Brooklyn to ride the subway, creating more traffic issues.
City Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) – his brother – stands on the opposite side of the “toll swap” debate. He said the 4 percent mass transit fare hikes, scheduled to go into effect this month, would not be necessary if such tolls were in place.
“This is the solution. It’s outrageous that there are now seven proposed toll fare increases and these bridges remain free. They cost money to maintain, so the financial burden is on everyone else,” Mark Weprin said. “Many of those commuters can afford to pay their part, and they should. There is currently a $15 billion transit deficit. This proposal would fill that gap and then some.”
Councilman Weprin said commuters from Brooklyn and Queens create congestion on bridges, often affecting traffic in residential areas on either side of the river. He said a toll would be a common sense way of addressing the issue.
“My brother is still very much a part of that old guard believing the East River bridges should be free,” the councilman said. “The truth is that several thousand commuters go into Manhattan without paying anything, which causes congestion, pollution and a hazard to pedestrians.”
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
