City Hall, NY – Council Member David I. Weprin (D-Hollis), Chair of the New York City Council Finance Committee, was joined by fellow elected officials as well as community leaders and business owners to denounce any proposal that would charge tolls on the four East River and Harlem Crossings, which have been free to New Yorkers since 1911. “Instead of charging tolls, why not bring back a Commuter Tax and let’s get all users of our infrastructure to pay their fair share instead,” stated Weprin.

“If New Yorker’s are expected to foot the bill, so should those who benefit from our services like police, fire, and sanitation,” added Weprin. According to Weprin it is estimated that the City has lost nearly $8.2 billion in revenue since the commuter tax was repealed.
According to an IBO report released in 2008 – if the legislature were to restore the commuter tax at its former rates of 0.45% for commuters and 0.65% for those self-employed, the city’s PIT (personal income tax) collection would increase by $713 million in 2009, $755 million in 2010, $798 million in 2011, and $835 million in 2012.

In December the Ravitch Commission – a 13 member panel appointed last June to identify solutions to the MTA’s financial crisis –recommend collecting tolls at all of the City’s East River bridges. “Charging a toll on any of the four bridges is the equivalent to charging residents to cross the street – however in this case it’s a river,” stated Councilman Weprin.

“We can not pay more and receive less service in our transit system.  We must continue to look for other alternatives to continue providing services, but no from the pockets of the working poor in New York City,” stated Council Member Miguel Martinez, Civil Service and Labor Committee Chair.

“I am flabbergasted by recent reports that proposals to toll East River and Harlem River bridges are still on the table. I have always maintained these tolls are a ‘backdoor’ to congestion pricing and are discriminatory, impractical, and impose an unfair ‘tax’ on Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx,” stated Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

“I have repeatedly offered alternative ideas for raising revenue including a modest increase in the gasoline tax in the MTA region and an extension of the car registration surcharge now imposed in New York City to the entire MTA region.

This way, the burden is shared by everyone and not just dumped on a small part of the region. And how about a mega-millions lottery, with all proceeds dedicated to mass transit?

“Outer borough residents are already struggling to make ends meet. As it stands, low and middle-income residents in the outer boroughs are underserved by public transit. Now, the Ravitch Commission is now going to take more cash out of their pockets without even considering a reasonable alternative! Tolling the East River crossings is only going to alienate these citizens while dividing the city,” stated Councilman Simcha Felder of Brooklyn.

Councilman Weprin also questioned, “How, at a time when the City and State are facing tough fiscal times, can we justify the expense of implementing tolls?”  If we have the money to put tolls – then we have the money to stop a hospital from closing, a new cadet class, restoring cuts to the classrooms, or investing in job training programs to help those out of work.

“It will cost more in building the needed supporting infrastructure and creating a special billing system to chase down drivers and to maintain tolls,” stated Weprin. According to the Ravitch Commission it is expected to cost over $400 million dollars to place tolls on the East River & Harlem River crossings.

We should not be trying to finance a budget with sneaky, regressive user fees that will primarily affect working, outer borough families,” concluded Weprin.

(YWN Desk – NYC)