Hollywood at the Erie County Legislature
I attended the hearing today regarding the 33% increase in the Grand Island tolls. The meeting was hosted by Tim Kennedy the chairman of the Economic Development committee and Legislator Iannello. Invited to speak were Carl Paladino, Elected officials from Grand Island, members of the Grand Island Economic Development Committee, John Bonora the President of the GI Chamber of Commerce and Kathy Hochul our County Clerk. Also invited but no shows were Assemblyman Sam Hoyt and Senator Antoine Thompson. On the agenda it said the Hoyt would be there and a representative from Thompson’s office would attend. Instead only a rep from Hoyts office showed.
Carl started off the meeting in true Carl Paladino fashion, going right after our WNY delegation for allowing this to continue on and on and on. He focused on many of the points that we have been making for over a year now, the federal funding that this state gets even though none of it gets to the thruway to maintain the roads, there by allowing the tolls to remain. If there is a step toward a Lawsuit on our part it will be in Federal Court not at the state level.
All the people from Grand Island focused on the economic hit the island has been taking and will get worse due to the 72 years of the tolls and this new increase. Island businesses get hit, trucks delivering products to the island get hit worse than the commuters do. Everything is more expensive here because the toll costs are then shifted on to the consumers. Real estate is taking a further hit because of the tolls and the increased traffic backup every day. Last years traffic increased over 20% and is now 78,000 at just the south bridge. Once again points that have been made over and over, this time it is just getting worse with the huge tax increase at the toll booths.
The Hollywood moments came at the end of the meeting. You know how Hollywood just loves to throw award ceremonies patting each other on the back, complimenting each other at the podium for being so creative, blah, blah, blah… They love to do it, they are in their own world and have no clue as to real world things, just what goes on in the world of Hollywierd.
Such goes the life of our elected representatives. They are in their own world with very few real world experiences and the longer they stay in office the worse they get. I think todays meeting was simply pandering and trying to show the people that they really care and know what it’s like to have to deal with the everyday traffic backups, what it’s like trying to get business not just to come here to Grand Island but to get the consumers here that we need to sustain what little commerce there is here.
As each one patted each other on the back for doing such a great job going after these tolls, to Iannello for doing such a great job keeping this issue in the forefront of the media. For the legislation that was passed at the county to eliminate the tolls. For the letter writing campaign? For the Petition she has started? and for writing to the Thruway Authority explaining that these tolls are a double tax and unfair. Well my congratulations for a job of doing a whole bunch of nothing but pleasing yourself and pandering to the electorate.
When they actually stand up as a legislature to call upon their own party members in the Assembly and demand that legislation be sponsored to remove the tolls by taking the thruway out of the hands of the unelected, unaccountable Authority and put it where it belongs and that is under the control of the NY State Department of Transportation. Then will I say that something is actually being done and I will openly applaud them and Thank them for actually doing their job. Until then they will continue to pat them selves on the back for pandering.
I will say that the petition and the 8,300 signatures at noGItolls.com never came up, not once was it acknowledged that the people in this area have been working overtime to do the right thing. When Legislation is introduced in the Senate and needs a sponsor in the Assembly will they call on Hoyt, Delmonte and Schimminger to sponsor and co-sponsor it? I have been asking them and none have responded. I guess they only represent the Democrats and not all the people. What a pity.
By the way, where is that petition that Iannello has started? Where is all the media coverage that she has gotten, where is her Party when we need them? Just curious.
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Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackRus: you keep saying I do not respond to you. I cannot recall a single phone call or email that I have received from you thay I have not responded to. that said, I was not there today but a member of my family was hopitalized today and I spent the entire day with them. I aksed somebody at the county leg. to have Ms. Ianello report that to those in attendance but I guess she did not. That said, you keep saying that i refuse to introduce some phantom bill in the state senate that would call for NYSDOT to take over Interstate 190. well there is no such bill. I cannot sponsor a bill that does not exist. I have spoken with Senator Maziarz office who inddicated that such a bill is in draft form. I told them that I would be happy to consider sponsoring it. they agreed to forward it to me. Sam
This was sent to you and to every member of the Transportation committee. I was invited to speak to them, as your meeting was scheduled in a short time and I found out about it the day before I could not make it and sent this.
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To the Assembly Transportation committee.
Chairman David F. Gantt
Last week I was invited to testify to the Assembly Republicans concerning the proposed toll increase and the Grand Island Toll issue. I would like to be there today but I did not know about this public hearing until today Tuesday, Dec 11th. I could not change my schedule to give me the time.
I hope you will accept this email and enter it into the record as a working document when you all meet to discuss how to go forward with saying NO to the toll increase and to give you more power with legislation to eliminate the Grand Island Tolls. It can be done with your help.
One of the hottest issues is the canal system and the financial burden that is being placed on the toll payers. $80 million a year being funneled out of the Thruway Authority is no longer acceptable. Governor Pataki and Spitzer both said that they would seperate the two. This needs to be done there by eliminating the toll increase. Pressure and legislation need to be proposed and passed to do this.
Last year alone the New York State Department of Transportation applied for and received $1.4 Billion from the Federal government Highway Fund. Those dollars are paid for by us in the 19 cents a gallon gasoline tax. The D.O.T. applied for all the (I’s) interstate road system including the 671 miles of Thruway, the I- 84 and the I- 287. Approx $400 Million should have been allocated to the Thruway system yet none of it did. Had that money made it they could have cut the tolls in half through out the thruway system. Instead we are looking at toll increases for the next 3 years and that is no longer acceptable. So in this one suggestion we see $480 million dollars in savings.
Now to the Grand Island Tolls at the bridges.
I represent almost 8000 petition signers from the Niagara Frontier, nogitolls.com and the recent merge of our group with the LaSalle PRIDE a group from Niagara Falls. I discussed the following with Jeff Williams from the Thruway Authority and he agrees, he also is the first one to admit that not all the money collected at these toll booths stays here like the Thruway Authority and others have said it does, last year alone they ran off with more that $10.6 Million to fund the rest of the thruway and the thruway debt.
We are the point where it is past time to start to make the Thruway Authority smaller instead of expanding as they have been for years. Take the Niagara section of the 190 from the city line, over the Grand Island bridges and into Niagara Falls away from the Thruway Authority and turn it over to the NY State D.O.T. Eliminating the tolls at the bridges.
The D.O.T. gets it funding from already dedicated sources like the Federal Reimbursement and the Highway Use Tax (HUT). The Grand Island bridges have been tolled since 1935 and for 72 years we have been paying tolls to get on and off the island. Traffic has gotten worse over the years and is in excess of 71,000 vehicles at the South Bridges and 52,000 at the North Bridges.
Daily traffic back up has become the norm with traffic backed up over a mile and sitting at a dead stop on the I-290 creating a very dangerous traffic safety hazard. The quickest and easiest remedy is to eliminate the tolls and by giving this section to the D.O.T. all will be done in one piece of legislation.
The Thruway Authority took over the bridges in 1950 and were the first tolls on the Thruway System. Not until June 24, 1954 were there any other tolls on it. At that point a 115 mile section was opened between Rochestor and Lowell, west of Utica.
I first discussed this with Senator George Maziarz, he liked the idea and he said he would research it and follow up on the proposal with his collegues and get back to me.
Governor Spitzers popularity is at an all time low and is over 70% negative here in WNY. You and he could show your commitment to helping WNY by doing this one very importand step to help better the economy and stop the commuter tax on people struggling to make a living here.
Jeff Williams from the thruway authority agrees, he feels that the Grand Island Bridges and the Niagara section should be run by the D.O.T. right now, so let’s make it happen. The other option I hear is building new toll booths on the other side of the bridges on Grand Island? That alone would cost 90 Million, and cannot be a serious proposal. Remove them for us all.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Rus Thompson
Grand Island, NY
Residents of Grand Island only pay $0.09 to go over the bridge. All this over nine cents?
This reminds me of the “bridge to nowhere” scenario. Why should taxpayers subsidize people who want to live on Grand Island? I think they should tear down the bridges and make you people take ferry boats to get back and forth to your island paradise…
Should I post every email I have sent to you at both your email addresses.
Typical Mike, you blow right by every other point that has been made and focus only on the 9 cents.
Stand back, educate yourself and look at the whole picture, if you can’t do that then I have nothing else to say to you. You come here just to insult me and anything I have to say, so just leave or actually say something of substance.
Rus,
The nine cents IS something of substance that you conveniently leave out of all your posts on the subject. You focus alot on the increase in tolls and the commuter tax issue. If you are only paying 9 cents, this seems like invented outrage. If a resident travels off the island every single day, this “commuter tax” amounts to less that $33.00 per year. I pay more than that every time if fill up the tank.
You do make a valid point about Island business being hit, but what, other than HUGE-cillo toyoya would people specifically travel to grand island for? Does the Wilson Farms on Grand Island have a better beer selection? Is the coffee better at the Tim Hortons? Are the McDonald fries crispier? I dont see people flocking to Grand Island to avail themselves of the services local businesses provide. They serve the island population mostly, dont they? And the island population is unaffected by the increases, so that would lead a rational person to conclude that these increases will have little affect on island business.
rational person
That just shows us that you are not one.
“rational person
That just shows us that you are not one.”
huh? is that supposed to be a coherent thought?
i’ll repeat it, because you seem to be a little slow with the whole rational argument thing.
1. Business caters to mostly island residents.
2. Island residents only pay 9 cents to cross the bridge
3. Toll increase does not affect the local residents
4. Therefore toll increase will not affect business
Is that too complicated for you? I know you have an affinity for pictures (especially of yourself) do you need me to draw one for you?
Could you draw me a picture please? See I dropped out of school in the 2nd to stay home and run the family farm. I was home schooled by a two tooth southern red neck so I’m pretty stupid.
I sure do know how to weed a mean garden and can fix a tractor with wire and a couple clamps. I also know how to cook a squirrel and can hunt with a sling shot pretty darn good to. See I married my cousin and we have 11 kids together.
Is that the new form of communication called sarcasm, I heard its all the rage these days.
Seriously though…
If island residents are unaffected by the toll increase, how is this a detriment to businesses that cater to mostly local residents? All this rage over a toll increase YOU DONT EVEN PAY!!!
Mike, your logic is seriously flawed. I’m told most people that live on the island don’t even shop on the island. Island businesses are not only for the benefit of Islanders, they have been established for the benefit of all Western New Yorkers.
But you’d have to be a one-celled paramecium not to know that, so I’m not going to accuse you of that. I’m guessing you just have nothing better to do than spew nonsense to justify big government and the triple tax on the GI bridges, and harass Rus for his personal amusement. It’s not about the 9 cents. It’s about the unconstitutional triple tax, it’s about massive mismanagement of the unfair tax, and about the far more serious conditon of unaccountability that runs rampant in NYS. I thank God for Rus, because I don’t see anyone else holding govt and billion $ non-govt entities accountable like he does — least of all, our do-nothing politicians.
“I’m told most people that live on the island don’t even shop on the island. Island businesses are not only for the benefit of Islanders, they have been established for the benefit of all Western New Yorkers.”
established for the benefit of all Western New Yorkers? Really? which ones? I have never been a situation where there was a good or service i needed that required a trip to Grand Island. Remind me what business they have in GI that is nowhere else?
“I thank God for Rus, because I don’t see anyone else holding govt and billion $ non-govt entities accountable like he does — least of all, our do-nothing politicians.”
A casual observer might point out that ever since Rus started his campaign to end the tolls, they have increased by 100%
OK, Mike…lets agree to your point, 9 cents for residents. Then WHY do all the tolls on the Thruway have to go up 20% over the next three years. The Federal Govmint gives NY lots-a-dough for I-87 and I-90 and all their tributaries, and not one lousy dime goes for maintance on those roads, excepting the extended portion of I-87 that is the Northway.
If those funds were used on those roads, they would even need the tolls, making the larger point of Rus’ argument. The GI bridge is just a local thorn, and a good case to be made. It’s easier to swallow a small bite then a large one, especially for Albany.
How do you eat an Elephant? One bite at a time.
Why is there an increase in the tolls?
They got rid of the $0.75 tolls on the 190. They have to make that money up somehow. What, did you think they would just tear down a multi-million dollar generator and that would be it?
And, why should everyone pay for bridges that primarily benefits residents of one small locality in the region? If the GI tolls were to be removed, then EVERYONE regardless if they use the bridges or not would have to pay for their upkeep. how is that fair?
Your questions and statements do not even deserve a reply. You focus on one thing and completely ignore all the other facts altogether. To continue to argue with you is fruitless.
You are already paying, look at the tolls and taxes that are dedicated to roads. We pay twice.
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