From the Daily News:A southern Queens community is trying to enlist the help of a civil liberties group in its fight against a proposal to abolish a decade-old toll rebate program on the Cross Bay Bridge.
In a creative legal strategy, community leaders in Broad Channel and Rockaway say that removing the rebate violates locals' First Amendment rights, provisions of the state Constitution and the City Charter.
"We have to pay a tax, in the form of a toll, to travel within our own community," said Community Board 14 member Michael Tubridy, who wrote a letter to the New York Civil Liberties Union.
"If the rebate program was removed, it would infringe on [our] rights," Tubridy said.
Broad Channel and Rockaway residents would be the only city residents forced to pay a toll within community board boundaries, established by the City Charter.
"The removal of this rebate will require Broad Channel and Rockaway residents to pay a toll to go to the post office, pick up their children at school, access our local hospital, go food shopping," Community Board 14 District Manager Jonathan Gaska wrote in a letter to the NYCLU. "The financial cost to our residents will amount to thousands of dollars a year ... to conduct everyday activities."
Community members are planning a multipronged effort to halt the MTA plan, which is likely to take effect in June.
8 comments:
There should be no toll for NYC residents on any bridge anywhere in NYC. All legal, primary residents of NYC should be provided an E-Zpass device that exempts them from paying a toll on this bridge. All non NYC motorists and truckers would be required to pay tolls in both directions.
Abolish the Port Authority for all bridge operations. Eliminate toll taker positions - this is the last bastion of make work and dole for Pols to hand out. Reduce taxes and keep taxes in NY by not sending PA revenues to NJ projects like Liberty Newark Airport.
Anonymous # 1 above is right.
Why hasn't Commissar Death and Taxes just automatically ruled out this rebate elimination?
Why is there any toll there at all?
Dump this Commissar now!
Sorry, the NYCLU has more important matters to attend to than your free-driving campaign. So when are you folks going to start a free subway/bus campaign?
A millionaire has already done that. So why don't you go join him and stop whining about the people who live and work here?
wow #1 is on so wrong
transit should be free (and admittedly much much better)
driving should be expensive
you need to give up old habits
Driving should not be expensive if you have shitty transit, which Rockaway most certainly has.
Driving shouldn't be expensive if you want to get from place to place in the SAME borough.
To all residents of the CB14 district:
Sorry you'll soon have to pay a toll to travel within your own district. But understand that MTA needs the cash. Since the Council has decided to spend $400 million dollars to acquire the all of the Willets Point property for the redevelopment there, the City is stretched for cash and is in no position to assist the MTA. So, the toll rebate program in your district can't be renewed.
But you can at least sleep at night, knowing that by paying your tolls, no compromise of the Willets Point mega-development will be necessary. It is, after all, the priority.
If you wanted to avoid paying tolls, you should have opposed the Mayor's plan to squander $400 million dollars in Willets Point. You didn't, so now you pay the price.
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