Do only Dems get jobs on the toll bridge?

[Vinnie G/Toll Bridge]

Mr Grasso: tear down that bridge!

[Troll Toll]

Boy what a nice gig!

[tolls and trolls]

Actually I put in a complaint with the bridge authority when I came to a cash *7*7*7*7 that would not accept ezpass. The ez pass *7*7*7*7s were actually backed up on the Whitestone Bridge so I went flying through the cash *7*7*7*7. A big dude there told me cash only.

Who's counting?

Nolo respondere from MTA.

[interesting...]

are censored on s c h w a r t z i e which is also censored.

There were a few KGB immigrants coming here over the years. Are they working at the report?

oh well they work cheap.

[Reminder!]

Atlantic Beach Bridge: Tolls, Jobs and Politics
By STEWART AIN
Published: July 25, 1999
Twitter
Recommend
Sign In to E-Mail

Print

Single-Page

AS he approached the Atlantic Beach Bridge on a weekday evening earlier this month, Barry Ringelheim was shocked by what he saw.

''Every toll booth was open in both directions,'' said Mr. Ringelheim, who was heading home from a school board meeting. ''It was 10 o'clock at night and traffic was light. Why was every booth open? Yet during the busiest time -- weekdays from 6 A.M. until 9 A.M. -- why are only a few booths open each way?''

Mr. Ringelheim, former president of the Atlantic Beach Estates Civic Association, believes the bridge is being mismanaged by the Nassau County Bridge Authority, an agency created by the State Legislature in 1945 for the sole purpose of operating the bridge. ''The bridge is run by politicians to give part-time jobs to their children in college and to retirees,'' he said.

Over the years, similar comments have been repeatedly made about Long Island's only toll bridge, by residents but as well as state and county officials. Three successive State Comptroller's audits -- in 1980, 1987 and again just three months ago -- called for the county to take over the operation of the bridge, which spans Reynolds Channel between the villages of Lawrence and Atlantic Beach. A Nassau County grand jury, which investigated the authority in 1981, called for the same solution.

But for all of the talk and investigations, the only major changes at the bridge in the last dozen years were two toll increases that raised round-trip tolls from $1 to $2.50. Bridge Authority officials said the last increase two years ago was to pay for a $21 million renovation that is expected to be completed in about a year and to reverse three consecutive years of operating losses.

But as State Comptroller H. Carl McCall pointed out in the audit released in March, the vast majority of the toll revenue -- 71 percent -- goes to paying the toll takers and the support staff of the Bridge Authority. Mr. McCall found that the Bridge Authority had a paid staff of 92 employees (38 full time) in May 1997, with a total payroll of $2.2 million.

Mr. McCall attributed the operating losses to an ''increasing trend in personal service costs and a decline in toll revenues resulting from a decreasing trend in the number of paid cash tolls.'' Cash tolls are paid by one-time users of the bridge and those who buy discount books of 40 tickets for $15. About 6,000 Atlantic Beach residents buy an annual decal for their car for $75.

The Comptroller's audit, which covered the fiscal years 1994-1997, said the bridge operation should be made more efficient and cost effective. Mr. McCall warned that if changes were not made, another toll increase would be needed in the year 2012 to cover expenses and repay the latest bonds, which are not scheduled to be retired until the year 2026.

Among his suggestions:

*Automate some of the toll booths to cut down on toll collectors.

*Give Atlantic Beach residents a permanent pass to affix to their car windows that would be renewed annually by mail.

*Consider joining the popular E-Z Pass program used elsewhere in the state.

*Correct the toll fee inequity in which 62 percent of the toll revenue is paid by cash customers who make only 32 percent of the crossings. Atlantic Beach residents with decals pay only 14 percent of what cash customers pay; by comparison, E-Z Pass commuters on the facilities of the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority pay 86 percent of the full fare.

In addition, Mr. McCall recommended that the Bridge Authority's Board of Commissioners -- five unpaid members who are appointed by the Nassau County Executive, Thomas S. Gulotta -- petition the county and state legislatures to authorize legislation permitting Nassau County to assume operations of the bridge and to eliminate the toll. But he noted that from December 1993 until May 1998 there were only three commissioners, and another commissioner resigned on May 12, 1998.

Two months ago, one of the two remaining commissioners, Phil Basciliga, resigned, leaving Robert H. Jurick as the only commissioner. Because a quorum is needed for the commission to take any action, Mr. Jurick said, his hands are tied.

''I can't approve or disapprove of anything,'' he said.

[Unregisteredbridge]

Why don't they just get ez-pass instead of that stupid bar code sticker?

[Unregistered poster]

Supposedly, Ezpass requires a certain amount of cars passing through the tolls per day for it to "set up shop" at the toll bridge/road. From what I understand, the AB Bridge falls short of the minimum.

[Unregistered678]

`A better idea would be to eliminate they only go to pay the political trolls. Anytime improvements are needed they need to float a bond issue. 38 full time employees, are they sure thats enough!