Incensed over upcoming toll hikes on the Verrazano Bridge, the Staten Island and Brooklyn borough presidents will boycott the iconic span’s 50th anniversary celebration on Friday– as well as all local Staten Island officials.
Staten Island prez James Oddo said he understood the MTA’s financial pain, but couldn’t celebrate the history of the bridge.
His own father had paid too high a personal toll in bearing the cost of the crossing, he explained.
“I have tried to balance my awe at the engineering marvel and its historical significance, with the tangible angst brought on by the predatory tolling that has been so much a part of this structure’s history,” said Oddo.
“..I can’t help thinking about a guy who for years worked two jobs– sometimes 6 days a week– stealing time from his wife and children simply to make ends meet– and who had to endure being shaken down each and every time he crossed that bridge.”
Brooklyn’s borough president Eric Adams also won’t go.
“There is nothing to celebrate until our city’s commuters can finally receive the Verrazano toll relief that they deserve,” he said.
MTA board member Allen Cappelli, who represents Staten Island and plans to vote against the toll increases, said the authority is sensitive to keep the cost of the hikes down for bus and subway riders, but not for drivers.
It currently costs $15 to cross the Verrazano on a westbound trip, though eastbound is free. MTA officials are considering a proposal to hike tolls to $16 in March, and it will be voted on in January.
MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said the round-trip total toll is the same as for a round-trip at other major crossings– and Staten Island residents pay only $2.75 now to cross the bridge each way with EZ-Pass. It would go up 12 cents next year.
“The bridge is a symbol of Staten Island, and we regret that not all of Staten Island’s elected representatives will be there to celebrate its 50th anniversary,” he said.
The MTA will celebrate the birthday of the iconic Verrazano suspension bridge, which united the city’s 5 boroughs when it was built in 1964, with a 50-gun salute and a fireboat display.
An original iron worker who helped build it, as well as the first people to cross it. Retired bridge and tunnel cops who initially guarded it will be there as well.