Should NY toll the East River bridges to pay for mass transit?

It is time for New York City to stop being stupid and throw off the federal government's will that is killing the city. Tolls on the bridges will only add more pollution and frustration while increasing driving costs. Talk about Industrial Age solutions to Information Age problems.
The way to raise money is to legalize hemp and tax recreational grades at 20%.

I think we have no choice to include tolls on the bridges. I supported Congestion Pricing, and I support this. Its a proven policy for increasing much needed revenue AND encouraging people to drive less.

Have you ever tried to leave Manhattan at the 59th Street Bridge at 6PM? What a freaking nightmare! It took me 40 minutes to get to Queens. Add toll booths and the situation can only get worse. This is not the answer, keep thinking!

We don't need tolls or any other regressive taxation. Paterson may not appreciate SNL's spoof of him but he is myopic if he believes taxing soda will accomplish anything more than hurting working people. Councilman Barron pointed out recently that Bloomberg's net worth increased from 5 to 20 billion (he moved from 65th to 8th on Forbes list) during his tenure as mayor. There is something obscene about the rich raking it in while crying poverty and asking working people to bail them out. It is time to tax the wealthy - and use the money for education and healthcare - and infrastructure, per Obama's stated goal...

Tolls on these bridges would add to traffic jams and greatly increase pollution -- neither of which this city needs. Congestion pricing in Manhattan would be a much wiser idea.

I supported Congestion Pricing too, and now I support tolls at the bridges. The simple fact is that improving and expanding the mass transit system is a necessity, needs to be a priority, and benefits the majority. Being stuck in traffic alone should discourage people from driving into the City, but it doesn't. Tolls will be an additional deterant, while also generating much needed revenue. People need to be reminded that NYC has other forms of transportation. Driving needs to be discouraged as much as possible. Let's stop paying with our health and let's start investing in sustainable solutions.

It's about time that drivers from Queens & Brooklyn pay their share. There are alternate ways to get into Manhattan. Remember that another borough of NYC, namely Staten Island, has had no 'free' way for cars to get to other parts of the city for years! Less cars traveling into Manhattan is a great idea. Mass transit is the way for people to go!

Americans seem to have forgotten about sacrificing for the good of the majority. Tolls on the bridges and congestion pricing are a sacrifice. I live in Queens and am willing to take that one on the chin. The alternative is to stick my head back in the sand and "Let the government take care of it some other way". Those days are over and we'd better face it.

manhattanvisitor & thomas-
There are no toll booths with modern tolls, nothing to back up traffic- tolls theses days are done electronically. Stop you're whining, the only thing regressive is your desire to keep using unsustainable, community-killing, pollution-causing autos to move your fat ass around the city. That's ridiculous. Wakeup and smell the middle east oil burning in your vehicle and the fumes spewing out of your tailpipe. This is the 21st century and cars are dead.

I was just gonna leave a comment but Martin said it much better than I could.

By discouraging unnecessary car trips, tolls will REDUCE traffic and DECREASE pollution. Just to be clear, as it has been said by others here, there will be no toll booths or toll plazas or lines of any kind - charges will be done automatically via camera while cars are moving. Unfortunately driving commuters are so obsessed with their aversion to tolls, they are losing sight of the fact that it will make their commutes quicker and easier as people with the option of using mass transit or carpooling make that switch. Drivers get a faster commute while paying a fair share for the infrastructure they use (just like the mass transit-riding majority), and the money helps fund mass transit, which the DOT's recent studies show is the only frontier for population growth in the city. It's a win-win-win proposition.

THE PLAN DOES NOT INVOLVE BOOTHS OR PLAZAS. It bears repeating.

Tolls will more likely reduce car travel, which, with no toll plaza, will REDUCE pollution and congestion around the bridges.

And I'm sorry, but motorists OWE society for the decades of impunity in polluting our shared city (and planet). Non-drivers' taxes pay for car infrastructure. Drivers in outer boroughs might not have it easy, but neither does anyone.

THE PLAN DOES NOT INVOLVE BOOTHS OR PLAZAS. It bears repeating.

Tolls will more likely reduce car travel, which, with no toll plaza, will REDUCE pollution and congestion around the bridges.

And I'm sorry, but motorists OWE society for the decades of impunity in polluting our shared city (and planet). Non-drivers' taxes pay for car infrastructure. Drivers in outer boroughs might not have it easy, but neither does anyone.

It's time for drivers to start paying their fair share, rather than the overburdened straphangers having to suffer an increased fare. Tolling the East River bridges would provide tremendous benefits for all New Yorkers - increased money for mass transit, decreased traffic, and decreased pollution. Keeping the bridges free only benefits a tiny minority of New Yorkers (and drivers from other states) who free-load off of everyone else.

A congestion-pricing variable toll to and from Manhattan might work and exemption between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. is also an interesting idea. However, I don't trust the MTA to properly manage the additional revenue. A very foreseeable outcome could be tolls at the East and Hudson river crossings and a future MTA asking for more money to cover new shortfalls because of their propensity for mismanagement.

The mismanaged MTA.will only be like the Triborough bridge Authority and increase the tolls neverending.No more quarter raises now dollars.They will start at 5dollars next year another deficet lets make it 7or8 dollars.The toll on the Triborough was to pay off the bridge which was done over 30 yrs.now.Hey lets change the name to RFK.for 4million and wastte money they [dont] have.They should have named the bridge for RFK.40or30 yrs.ago.Soon only rich and poor will exsist in NYC.

The east river already segregates new yorkers along ECONOMIC and social and educational lines ....Look at Craigslist dating ...Manhattanites already want to date only other manhattanites.
Can you get a taxi in your neighborhoods? ....no...only car service for the outer boroughs. Just recently there has been some movement of upcoming young people to the outer boroughs .These tolls will segregate us again
...just another reason to move out of New York.
There is a huge evening economy and jobs supported by parking regulations which allow for parking at 6 or 7 PM . Restaurants , schools ,clubs shopping etc.
I use all modes of transportation including bike , bus , subway ,walk and sometimes my car ...I was looking forward to using my car more as I get older...now i may have to sell out and leave the city I love.