Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Jim Henderson
The funding for the expansion was secured in both houses of the Legislature utilizing the Outer Borough Transportation Account, which was established as part of the surcharge on for-hire vehicles passed last year in order to provide additional resources for transit improvements in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The resident rebate program at the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge will be expanded to all who live in the borough starting in spring 2020, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced on Thursday.
The agency noted that the extension of the toll program was spearheaded by Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach) and State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach), and that the “necessary funding” was secured in both houses of the Legislature utilizing the Outer Borough Transportation Account, which was established as part of the surcharge on for-hire vehicles passed last year in order to provide additional resources for transit improvements in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Known colloquially as the “Rockaway Rebate,” the program reimburses Rockaway Peninsula and Broad Channel residents for tolls incurred during trips across the bridge to and from mainland Queens.
For Pheffer Amato, a Rockaway native and resident, the ultimate goal has always been complete elimination of the fee.
“Intra-borough tolls don’t make sense. Tolls to drive five miles to work, play, pray or shop don’t make sense,” she said back in April 2017. “I’m absolutely certain the cost of ending this inequitable, onerous toll would be made up several times over the freedom and ease of access it would bring to the Rockaway Peninsula.”
Last June, Pheffer Amato’s bill that would prohibit the imposition and collection of a fare, toll, rental, rate, charge or other fee on the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge passed the Assembly by a 133-0 margin. However, the State Senate did not vote on the measure in time.
On Thursday, Pheffer Amato called the expansion of the toll rebate “a HUGE victory not only for the residents of Rockaway, but for all the hardworking families and small business of Queens. Expanding the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge rebate program to all Queens residents is a complete economic game changer for our communities in allowing freedom and ease of access to the entire borough. I join Senator Addabbo in thanking the leadership of the Assembly, Senate, Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo, and the MTA for listening to our persistent advocacy in making sure our communities’ voices were heard.”
According to the MTA, to be eligible for this program, one must have a valid E-ZPass tag mounted in the vehicle and a vehicle registered to a valid resident address in Queens. This program is only available to passenger vehicles. Vehicles used for commercial purposes will not be eligible.
“I want to thank the MTA, Governor Andrew Cuomo, my leader Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, and Speaker Carl Heastie for understanding the concerns of my colleague Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato and I regarding the toll on the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge, which has hampered the potential for economic opportunities on the Rockaway Peninsula,” Addabbo said. “Once the rebate is expanded to all Queens residents, individuals can work in Rockaway, as well as enjoy the beaches, ferry, restaurants and all else that Rockaway has to offer, without the additional financial burden.”
