Bridge Tolls
Advocacy Project

Pols and Polls

Tolls for Second Term?
The NY Post reported today that Mayor Bloomberg might push for East River bridge or other tolls during a second term.

There wasn't much to hang the story on, and the Post may have been trying to stir the pot in this bland election season. But even pure speculation about tolls is welcome, for now.

I'D BACK A DEM FOR MAYOR IN '09: MIKE
By DAVID SEIFMAN
The New York Post
October 30, 2005

[...]

The idea of charging higher rates on toll bridges and tunnels during rush hours isn't dead.

Early in his administration, Bloomberg flirted with various proposals to reduce traffic congestion but backed off when it became apparent that Albany wouldn't go along.

Get ready for round two.

"I think in a second term you revisit a lot of these things," the mayor said. "The world's different, and you learn."

True enough, high-tax cities and states (NYC heads the list) would take a huge hit from losing this tax break. But wait, there could be a silver lining. With each dollar of city and state income taxes effectively taking more from local residents' pockets, alternative revenue-raising measures will be at less of a disadvantage. And that should mean a shot in the arm for schemes to tax traffic, pollution, fuel, carbon, etc. -- none of which ever were, or would have been, eligible for federal income tax deductions in any event.

What might this mean for East River bridge tolls? A lot, if toll advocates seize the moment. Bridge tolls aren't just an end to themselves, but the first step in restructuring New York City's finances and transportation. As we posted here in 2003, the $700 million in bridge tolls revenue, while welcome, is just a down payment on the billions the city can generate by charging congestion-weighted fees on all car and truck use.

The Bush plan, while obviously a ploy to make high-tax blue staters pay for corporate tax breaks, at least has the virtue of putting the current tax system in play. Let's go all the way and lighten the tax burden on income, property and sales by taxing the things we want less of: traffic gridlock, fossil fuels, atmospheric pollution. Bridge tolls can be the first shot in this tax revolution.

Charles Komanoff
December 28, 2004

BTAP's Obituary For Tolls
"Bloomberg gets an 'A' for vision but an 'F' for follow-through," said pro-tolls economist Charles Komanoff, founder of the Bridge Tolls Advocacy Project. "He grasped that tolls could bust gridlock while raising vital revenue, but he barely lifted a finger to show New Yorkers how they would benefit," Komanoff said.

The Comptroller's Selective Concern
Despite a brightening economic picture, New York City could face a $2.3 billion budget deficit next year -- over $400 million larger than projected by the Bloomberg administration -- according to City Comptroller William Thompson. (December 16, 2003)

Op-Ed: "Drivers should pay fare share"
Want more evidence that Canadians are decades ahead of Americans? In Toronto's recent mayoral election, the winner was the candidate who backed road tolls as a way to generate revenue and calm traffic.

Q: What's rarer these days than a kind word for Mayor Bloomberg?
A: A kind word for East River bridge tolls.

Village Voice pundit Syd Schanberg recently uttered both. But where was Schanberg throughout 2003, when pro-tolls sentiment might have helped keep them on the political agenda?

Bloomberg has taken on other tough tasks that previous mayors shunned. He was the first mayor in recent times, for example, to propose putting tolls on the East River bridges as a central piece of his campaign platform. His predecessors for the most part avoided the idea as they would a communicable disease, insisting it was a guaranteed method for infuriating commuting motorists from Queens and Brooklyn and thereby ensuring one's defeat in the next mayoral election. When Bloomberg took office facing a $4 billion budget shortfall, he put forth the idea again, seeing it as a major, continuing revenue source and also as a way to compel carpooling and the use of public transport to reduce the number of vehicles entering the business districts of Manhattan. On this issue, the mayor's calm and quiet style didn't work. Fearing voter backlash, Albany blocked him. At present, roughly 1 million cars pour into Manhattan daily, making the borough the national poster child for gridlock.

Source: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0346/schanberg.php (November 11, 2003)

City Council Toll Opponents Can't Agree
Will tolling the bridges reduce traffic or won't it? (August 13, 2003)

Bloomberg Zags on Tolls
We don't know if Mayor Bloomberg's ill-timed remarks last week signal the end of East River bridge tolls for now, or just another twist in the road. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign hit the mark in this week's Mobilizing the Region, though we would add that the lack of support by other elected officials was also a factor.

BTAP continues to believe that the $600 million in net revenue from tolls is too vital for the city to ignore. We will keep working to marshal public and political support for East River tolls for the duration of the fiscal crisis, i.e., the foreseeable future.

       -- Charles Komanoff, Steve O'Neill, April 15, 2003

Marty Mark-Up
BTAP dissects the Brooklyn Borough President's latest anti-toll screed.

The NYMTC Ostrich
A $10 million taxpayer-financed computer model that could quantify the travel-time savings from tolling the East River bridges has been locked away, and Gov. Pataki is holding the key.

"East River bridges should remain free"
Brooklyn boro prez Marty Markowitz responded to mounting pressure to address East River bridge tolls with an anti-tolls op-ed in the Dec. 17 Daily News. Markowitz's mild arguments are no match for the facts (see our FAQ page), but it's good to see him come out punching.

Click here for some responses printed by the News on their Voice of the People page.

Mayor Urges High-Tech Method to Collect Tolls
"Bloomberg seemed particularly excited about bringing to the city an electronic tolling system used elsewhere that allows drivers to just 'go zipping through' a reader."

Poll: Brooklyn and Queens Support East River Tolls
A clear plurality of New York City voters polled by the Quinnipiac Polling Institute said to toll the East River bridges when asked how to best ease city budget woes. In fact, each of the 5 boroughs chose tolls.

Pols Shortsighted on Tolls
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz opposes tolls on the East River bridges because three of them -- the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg -- are in Brooklyn.

Hemming and Hawing
The Downtown Express weekly newspaper asked eight elected officials to comment on the Mayor's interest in tolling the East River bridges. Guess how many had the vision to declare their support.

And Carl Rosenstein, lower Manhattan activist, wrote a pointed letter to the editor explaining why our representatives need to get behind the toll proposal.