BY AIDAN GRAHAM
They want it both ways.
Drivers will soon pay tolls
in both directions on the Verrazzano–
Narrows Bridge, if a
group of local politicians have
their way.
Federal legislation introduced
by three Kings County
lawmakers would cut commuter
fares in half, to be
paid in both directions on the
bridge.
Currently, drivers fork
over $19 on each trip from
Brooklyn to Staten Island, or
$12.24 for travelers using the
E-ZPass system, whereas drivers
can enter Brooklyn from
the island borough free of
charge. The current system allows
out-of-state commuters to
use the bridge as a cheap entry
to the city, said one rep.
“The restoration of toll collection
in both directions, using
electronic tolling that does
not require stops at a toll plaza,
will greatly improve traffi c
and congestion in Brooklyn
and Lower Manhattan, while
also capturing new vital funding
for the MTA from out-ofstate
trucks, who no longer
will avoid a toll entering New
York City via Staten Island,”
said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (DBorough
Park).
Nadler presented the legislation
at an April 28 press
conference at the Wadsworth
Visitor’s Center on Staten Island
with fellow Reps. Max
Rose (D–Bay Ridge) and Nydia
Velázquez (D–Sunset Park),
along with the chairman of
the MTA, who called the current
toll system unnecessary.
“Given today’s technology,
there is no reason to require
tolls only in one direction on
this important crossing, and
we look forward to rationalizing
the collections so they
match every other tolledbridge
in the nation, helping
to fund the next MTA capital
plan including much-needed
TWO WAYS OR THE HIGHWAY: A group of local politicians introduced legislation that would impart a two-way
toll on drivers crossing the Verrazzano—Narrows Bridge. File photo by Georgine Benvenuto
investments in Staten Island
and Southern Brooklyn,” said
Patrick Foye.
Foye estimated that implementing
two-way tolling
would provide the MTA with
an additional $10 to $15 million
funds annually.
Rose, the freshman congressman
who represents
both sides of the bridge, said
charging commuters from
the island borough to Brooklyn
would reduce excessive
amounts of traffi c.
“Staten Island and South
Brooklyn have been used as
a cheap thoroughfare for far
too long,” he said. “The status
quo is not working for Staten
Islanders and South Brooklynites
who are living through
nightmare commutes every
single day.”
Two-way tolling would
discourage out-of-state truck
drivers from entering Southern
Brooklyn in an effort
to skirt the fares of other
throughways, causing severe
congestion in residential areas,
according to one City
Councilman, who applauded
the federal legislation.
“Gone will be the days of
toll-shopping trucks snaking
their way through our community
and choking our streets
just to save a few bucks,”
said Justin Brannan (D–Bay
Ridge). “Now, the only reason
we’ll see them in Bay Ridge or
Dyker Heights is if they need
to make a local delivery.”
The two-way toll effort
comes after a recent push by
a group of state legislators to
provide Brooklyn residents
INSIDE
We got the Beat!
Sgt. Pepper’s-inspired dance comes to BAM
By Colin Mixson It’s Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts
Club Dance! We hope you will enjoy
the show!
Members of a Fort Greene dance troupe
will pirouette, jump, and groove to the
tunes of the Beatles in a show opening
at Brooklyn Academy of Music on May
8, giving fans young and old a chance to
relive the sensation from Liverpool —
with dance!
“Their music is beloved even now, and
this helps audiences hear, feel, and see the
music in a deeper way all these decades
later,” said Lauren Grant, one of the piece’s
15 dancers.
The Beatles-inspired dance bonanza
“Pepperland,” features six Fab Four classics
from the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts
Club Band” album, including the title track,
“With a Little Help From My Friends,” “A
Day in the Life,” “When I’m Sixty-Four,”
and “Within You Without You,” along
with “Penny Lane” — originally slated for
the album, but released separately. Those
songs will be matched by an equal number
of original, Pepper-inspired tunes crafted
by jazz composer Ethan Iverson, all performed
live by a quirky ensemble featuring
the sax, trombone, keyboard, vocals,
and a theremin, the psychedelic electronic
instrument played without any physical
contact. The odd assembly propels the
dancers in a unique direction, said Grant.
“This is not the type of band we typically
work with. To have these sounds
accompany our movement is super fun
and atypical, it really feeds us on stage,”
she said.
The show started when the city of
Liverpool, home of the Beatles, contracted
choreographer Mark Morris, founder of
Fort Greene’s Mark Morris Dance Group,
to create a dance piece celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the 1967 album. The show
premiered at Liverpool’s “Sgt. Pepper at 50
Festival” in 2017, and has since toured the
world. The May 8 opening will be its first
Color commentary: The bright costumes
in “Pepperland” recall the mod
styles of the 1960s. Robbie Jack
appearance in New York City.
Morris’s choreography incorporates
an eclectic variety of dance styles, which
reflects the inspiration that the Beatles
found in music throughout the world,
said Grant.
“There’s a pop dance feel in some of
this, there’s ballet, and Indian dance, especially
during the ‘Within You, Without
You’ section, which has some basis in
Indian music,” she said.
Catch “Pepperland” at Brooklyn
Academy of Music 30 Lafayette Ave. at
Ashland Place in Fort Greene, (718) 636–
4100, bam.org. May 8–11 at 7:30 pm.
$30–$100.
Your entertainment
guide Page 61
Police Blotter ..........................8
Letters .................................... 36
Focus on Health ..................45
Standing O ............................58
HOW TO REACH US
2 COURIER LIFE, MAY 3–9, 2019 G
who frequently cross the
bridge a reduced fare of $5.50,
a discount already provided to
State Island locals.
After sponsoring that legislation
earlier this month,
Assemblywoman Mathylde
Frontus (D-Coney Island) said
a two-way toll was necessary
for balancing the need for additional
MTA revenue while
helping local residents.
“Reinstating the two-way
toll on the Verrazzano–Narrows
Bridge conveys consensus
among us elected offi cials
in the area when it comes to
fi nding the balance between
helping our constituents and
ensuring that we continue to
raise revenue to maintain and
improve the conditions of our
local transportation system,”
she said.
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TWO-WAY EFFORT
Local pols push for Verrazzano tolls in both directions
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