I'm all for lower tolls for hardworking Staten Islanders but the fact is a bridge has two sides. And for the MTA to recognize the toll burdens for residents on one side of the Verrazzano Bridge, means the MTA must recognize the toll burdens for the residents on the Brooklyn side of the bridge. Anything less would give a new definition of highway robbery!

In the wake of yet another Verrazzano toll hike, starting this Sunday, March 19th, Brooklynites will have to pay as much as $17 to cross the bridge. SEVENTEEN DOLLARS!

On our side of the Narrows, students, professionals, and blue collar workers are tired of listening to the same old tune by the MTA. That is why I am calling on the MTA to play fair, once and for all, by instituting the same toll discount plan given to Staten Islanders for Brooklynites who live in the surrounding zip codes on the Brooklyn side of the bridge.

I am also calling on the MTA to extend the same discount plan they extend to Staten Islanders to all Brooklynites who travel the Verrazzano 10 times or more per month as recorded by their EZ Pass usage.

We all know the urban legend about how "they" said the Verrazzano Bridge toll would be free once the bridge construction was paid off. Obviously, that didn’t happen and now we have to bang the drums to get our fair share of a reasonable discount on an unreasonable toll.

Please sign your name below if you are a Brookynite and you feel you deserve the same break as Staten Island gets. This isn't about pitting one borough against another. This is about the toll equity and the MTA finally doing what they know is right. A bridge has two sides and therefore so should the discount plan!

Thanks for reading and signing this petition.

Councilman Vinnie Gentile
43rd District (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach, Bensonhurst)