Staten Islander News previously covered the introduction by Asm. Fall of a bill that would make the Verrazzano Bridge, one of the most expensive bridges in the country and Staten Island’s most expensive bridge if both directions are considered, free for Staten Island residents. Asm. Pirozzolo applauds Asm. Fall’s efforts to help islanders by removing this unfair burden. Staten Island is the only borough that does not have a free way to both enter and leave, as every bridge has a toll on it. Even Manhattan, the most expensive borough in the city, has multiple free bridge routes, that are free both entering and exiting, and several that are free exiting only, such as the GW Bridge.
From our coverage of the bill: “Assembly Assistant Majority Leader Charles D. Fall (D-Richmond, New York, Kings) announces a package of legislation that will put Staten Islanders first. Assembly Bill A03396 will exempt Staten Island residents from Verrazzano-Bridge tolls.”
Staten Islander News spoke with Assemblymember Pirozzolo on his views about this bill:
1- The high tolls on the VZ Bridge are an unfair burden, especially due to the soon-to-be-rolled-out congestion pricing scheme/scam, which is the most illegitimate toll. Asm. Pirozzolo would sign on with the VZ bridge toll exemption for Staten islanders. Usually an item like this is something called the “Big Ugly” for the regular VZ and other bridge tolls. He applauds Asm. Fall for starting the conversation. Fall has been doing this for a number of years, and even if the bill takes some time to pass, this is getting the assembly and other lawmakers talking about it as a possibility. You don’t cross the finish line without starting.
2- Staten Islanders shouldn’t be paying the toll, since even Manhattan has a free toll. The only way many Staten islander have to get to city hall is by paying a toll. There is an old law that says that you shouldn’t have to pay to get to City Hall for a redress of grievances. Auto transport is the number one method of transport, and everyone, particularly those residing on Staten Island, has to take a car. If you move to Staten island from Queens, you need a car. If your family wants to visit, and you invite three people (such as your mother, brother, and father-in-law who still live in Queens, for example), that is a whopping $45 in tolls if each of them drive. And that’s just to visit you on Staten Island!
The non-residents (without the benefit of the resident discount) who have moved away have to pay $15 just to visit family that they used to live near. This excessively high toll also reduces the number of workers available, because everyone who would want to work on Staten Island that lives in another borough would not bother. The extremely high toll would keep them away. Workers cannot come to Staten island to work from other boroughs, whereas this is not the case with the other boroughs. There are plenty of workers moving between other boroughs. This very issue was raised at the NYC DOT’s roundtable event, where community feedback was solicited about this and other issues. The person raising the issue was asking for a Fast Ferry to Brooklyn, as there are construction workers there who want to come to our borough, but the toll and transportation options are severely limited.
Asm. Pirozzolo wants to call for a complete audit of the MTA. Congestion pricing revenue is estimated at $1 billion. Estimating people who cheat on their tolls is about $790 million. Shouldn’t they plug the $790 million before getting the $1 billion from this new scheme? The MTA is also giving free bus routes, which is why they need congestion pricing. Would definitely call for a complete audit before they are allowed to institute anything new.
After Covid prices, energy and gas surcharges – these started everything, gas is so expensive that they had to charge a surcharge. Recently, a constituent was ordering flowers over the phone, the company charged a $25 gas surcharge! There is no way that the florist actually paid that much to deliver here. The Biden admin has been saying that inflation will come down. Inflation was less than 2% when he took office, and has risen steadily since then.
In conclusion, Asm. Pirozzolo will continue to fight for Staten Islanders by putting his support behind the Verrazzano Bridge bill that would make it free for islanders.
Banner Image: Verrazzano Bridge during the NYC Marathon. Image Credit – Evan Buchholz
Staten Islander News Service Staff Writer
This byline indicates that this article was penned by a member/members of the Staten Islander News Organization office team. Our staff writers are the backbone of our newspaper, performing all sorts of important tasks like conducting interviews, investigating leads, besides writing the news stories you see.