The NYPD and the MTA both passed the buck Thursday on whether the Rev. Al Sharpton will get permission to lead a march across the Verrazano Bridge to protest Eric Garner’s chokehold death.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said cops won’t consider granting a permit unless the MTA, which owns the bridge, first gives its blessing to the controversial plan.
“In New York we can police almost anything, and we are very good at it. But the immediate predicate decision would need to be from the people who own the bridge,” Bratton said.
The MTA, however, insisted the city was in the driver’s seat when it came to closing the span that links Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Spokesman Adam Lisberg said the agency only closes the bridge to traffic twice a year, at the city’s request, for the New York City Marathon and the Five Boro Bike Tour.
“If New York City requests that the MTA closes the bridge to accommodate this event, the MTA will be cooperative,” Lisberg said of Sharpton’s planned Aug. 23 march.
The city Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled Garner’s death a homicide. Sources said Thursday that the final autopsy report showed he wasn’t high on drugs or alcohol at the time.
On Wednesday, several Staten Island officials said they opposed the march, and Republican challenger Rob Astorino also called on Gov. Cuomo to use his authority over the MTA to block it.
Cuomo’s office has declined to weigh in on the controversy.