john_ny

We live on a small island, 38,000 acres. (I have a friend who lives on a ranch, in west Texas, and it's 68,000 acres.) There are 5 counties in New York City, and we are one of them, but we only have about 6% of the total population. The only way to drive off the island is to cross a bridge. There are three bridges that go to New Jersey, and one to Brooklyn, NY. They are all toll bridges. We used to have a ferry to Manhattan, where you could drive on, (for a toll) but after 9/11 they stopped carrying vehicles. Now, you can ride the ferry free, but only for pedestrians.
So, basically, we have no way of getting off the island without paying a toll. Staten Island has between 1 and 2 tenths of one percent (close to 16 or 17 one hundreths of 1 percent) of the total population of the entire U.S. Yet, about 6% of all the tolls collected in the entire U.S. come from Staten Island. That's about 40 times the national average, per capita, even with the discount. Since S.I. is the only borough (county) in NY that one cannot drive to another borough for free, some politicians, a few years ago, deemed it was only fair that our resiidents should get a discount. Of course, there were soon complaints from others that it was unfair to give us discounts, and not them.
The president of our chamber of commerce recently wrote to our local congressman, urging him to support a bill that would make it a federal law, to assure that the only way that the discount stayed in effect.

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John

momoese

That sucks. Good luck to ya.

Scuba_Dave

I think that paying a toll is the choice you make when you live on an island
Someone has to pay for the up keep on the bridges
Here there have been problems where the toll $$ collected, which is supposed to support/pay for road repairs; is used for other projects
We chose to buy a house where we would not need to use a bridge or toll road to get to work in Boston

john_ny

There are a lot of things to consider. First, New York City is a series of islands; Manhattan is an island, Brooklyn and Queens are part of Long Island. The only part that is on the "mainland" is The Bronx.
There is the same problem where the toll money collected is used for other purposes. The toll bridges are money makers, and the Verazano Bridge, between Staten Island and Brooklyn is the biggest money maker of all. Many other things operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are mony losers, such as NYC Transit which is the bus system and, the biggest portion of which are the subways. All the other boroughs have subways connecting each other. Staten Island has no subways. Some of the bridges connecting the other boroughs, are tolled; others are not, so people in all of the other four boroughs can drive between one and another for, if they choose, free by using a free bridge. Any time there is a suggestion that, in order to relieve congestion, and pollution, tolls should be put on the free bridges, those people scream to high heaven.
Other things that bridge toll money is used to subsidize, are the Long Island Railroad, which connects Brooklyn and Queens with the rest of Long Island, something that most Staten Islanders never use. There is also Metro North Railroad, which connects Manhattan with counties to the north, such as Westchester, and Rockland. Again, it's something that most Staten Islanders never use.
We lived here, for years, before the bridge to Brooklyn opened. Before that, we had a ferry, with a minimal fare, operated by a private company.
When the bridge opened, the toll was something like fifty cents each way. Now they only collect tolls in one direction (round trip toll), but it's $13.00 for cash. Discounts are available for using E-Z Pass (a signal from a transponder in your car is read, and the amount is charged to your account), or for Staten Island residents.
The round trip tolls, on the bridges to New Jersey, which are operated by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, are $8.00 cash, with a minimal discount for E-Z Pass. Money from these bridges is used to subsidize things like PATH trains, connecting Manhattan and NJ. (Again, almost never used by Staten Islanders.) The PA also operates the Port Authority Bus Terminal. and JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia Airports. I don't know how much of a subsidy these things get.

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John

Patty in Wisc

John, is the Statue Of Liberty near Staten Island? And, were the twin towers in Manhatten facing east?

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Patty




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Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.

john_ny

Hi Patty,
The Statue of Liberty is actually closer to lower Manhattan, but it's not a lot of difference. The Staten Island Ferry, which runs between Staten Island and Manhatten is only about a 25 minute ride, and it passes within a couple of hundred yards of the statue.

I think, but I'm not sure, that the towers faced east. I've only been in them a couple of times; once was when I had some business with the Customs Department. I had a tropical fish import business, and I needed a form for what was called an "Immediate Consumption Declaration" (You couldn't let boxes of live fish sit around for days, until customs cleared them).
The other time was when my wife's boss gave us tikets from a club that he belonged to. The tickets provided for a dinner at Windows on The World, and then a charter bus to take us uptown to see a Broadway show, and a bus ride back to the towers, after the show. Really neat.

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John

Patty in Wisc

Thank you John!

__________________
Got a lite?
Patty




____
Patty in Wisc has sadly passed away 9/05/11. We will miss you Patty.