BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARTY MARKOWITZ STATEMENT
ON EAST RIVER TOLLS

“Haven’t we been down this road before? I have said it before and will say it again: East River tolls are discriminatory, impractical, and impose an unfair ‘tax’ on the outer boroughs—especially Brooklyn. Three of the four un-tolled bridges—the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg—are in Brooklyn, and because some parts of our borough have limited or no access to mass transit, drivers, including those who use their vehicles for small businesses, have no choice but to use these spans. Additionally, even with advances in E-ZPass technology, tolls will create even worse traffic backups for communities such as Downtown Brooklyn, Williamsburg, DUMBO, and the ‘Brownstone Belt’ of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill, which already suffer.

It is, of course, imperative to find ways to close the City’s growing budget gap in these tough economic times—but placing the burden unfairly on the backs of hard-working Brooklynites is not one of them.”