BILL NUMBER: S6909

SPONSOR: ADDABBO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to prohibiting the imposition and collection of a
fare, toll, rental, rate, charge or other fee on the Cross Bay Veterans
Memorial Bridge as security for bonds and notes issued by the Triborough
bridge and tunnel authority or by the metropolitan commuter transporta-
tion authority

 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to end the inequitable, unjustified and
demonstrably burdensome toll on the Cross Bay Bridge, the only tolled
intra-Borough bridge in our State. The Cross Bay Memorial Bridge carries
Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway
Peninsula. Both sites, and their immediate environs, sit in the Borough
and County of Queens. The local and regional economic impact of this
toll has been imposed for far too long on the residents of Queens, thou-
sands of whom are forced to pay a toll to go to work, drop off or pick
up their kids from school, see a doctor, dine out, go for a day at the
              

beach, or utilize social services. The toll has the impact of dividing
communities, artificially creating economic barriers, hampering tourism
and keeping the area most impacted by Superstorm Sandy from effecting a
full and thorough economic recovery.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one adds that any fare, toll, rental, rate, charge or other fee
on the Cross Bay Memorial Bridge shall cease to be levied and collected
as of the effective date of this act.

Section two relates to the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Cross Bay Memorial Bridge is the only tolled intra-Borough or
intra-County bridge in our State.

In 1939, the New York City Parkway Authority built the Cross Bay Bridge
and Parkway along with beach improvements in the Rockaways. This was
part of a program to develop Jamaica Bay as a residential and recre-
ational area, instead of following a previous City plan to develop the
area as a large industrial port. The following year, the New York City
Parkway Authority was consolidated with the Triborough Bridge Authority.
In 1970, the consolidated TBTA completed the present Cross Bay Veterans
Memorial Bridge, a high-level fixed bridge, which permits boats to pass
under it without the traffic delays caused by the lifting of a bascule
bridge. The toll on the Cross Bay Bridge was implemented only to cover
the cost of construction, and started at $0.10 per trip. The toll has
since grown exponentially, to $4.25 per trip.

The Cross Bay Bridge toll stunts economic growth, dis-incentivizes free-
dom of motion within a single Borough, and impacts the thousands of
Queens residents who are required to pay this toll several times per day
to conduct their daily lives. Residents often need to pay a two-way toll
to work, go shopping or meet friends and family mere minutes from their
house. The inequitable toll also keeps tourists from easy access to New
York City's only real extended beachfront, unquestionably costing
millions of dollars every year in tourism. The toll has outlived its
original stated purpose of paying for the bridge, has absolutely no
stated current purpose besides supplementing the MTA's budget, and
inequitably hinders the economy of a particular part of New York City.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE:

None.