What you should know
- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is requiring the New York Road Runners, organizers of the venerable race held on the first Sunday in November, to pay approximately $750,000 for use of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
- The agency that oversees New York’s bridges and tunnels says the fee represents the estimated amount of toll revenue lost when the bridge closes.
- But the Road Runners argue that the MTA enjoys higher revenue due to higher transit ridership during marathon week.
NEW YORK — Organizers of the New York City Marathon will soon have to pay a toll on the bridge, like every other commuter, if New York transit officials have their way.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority requires the New York Road Runners, organizers of the venerable race usually held on the first Sunday of each November, to pay approximately $750,000 for use of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
The agency that oversees New York’s bridges and tunnels says the fee represents the estimated amount of toll revenue lost when the nation’s longest suspension bridge closes.
“New Yorkers love Marathon Sunday, but taxpayers can’t be expected to subsidize a wealthy non-governmental organization like New York Road Runners to the tune of $750,000,” said Catherine Sheridan, president of the department of bridges and tunnels. of the MTA, in a statement.
But the Road Runners have objected, arguing that the MTA enjoys higher revenues due to higher transit ridership during the marathon week that “more than offsets” any loss of toll revenue from the bridge. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connects the Brooklyn and Staten Island boroughs of New York City and is named after the first European explorer to reach New York Harbor.
The organization also noted that the 2019 marathon generated approximately $427 million for the city, significantly boosting tourism, tax revenue and the economy, according to an economic impact report it commissioned in 2020.
“The impact of the MTA request would represent a material change in the cost structure and would require an increase in the amount runners pay to run the marathon, making it less affordable for local runners and those traveling to New York City. York from all over the world. “Both contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the city and state economy,” Crystal Howard, a spokeswoman for the organization, said in an emailed statement.
He said the organization has repeatedly asked the MTA to provide data to support its claim of $750,000 in lost revenue, but has not received it.
The agency also declined to share data on revenue generated by increased ridership during marathon week, even though Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced after last year’s marathon that the MTA enjoyed a “record passengers on the subway” on race day, Howard said.
The Road Runners, he added, are willing to negotiate with traffic officials, but any resolution must reflect the “significant value” the agency derives from the marathon, which the organization says has been run over the bridge since 1976.
The MTA has also threatened to restrict the marathon to using only one of its two traffic lanes if it doesn’t pay up, but the Road Runners have said such a move would significantly hamper the race, which is the largest marathon in the world. , welcoming more than 50,000 participants annually.
The organization said it may have to reduce the number of runners or extend the total time of the marathon, which would force it to close the bridge and other roads in the city for longer on race day.
The MTA declined to answer follow-up questions, but Sheridan, in his statement, said the agency is equally open to working with the organization on a compromise, as long as it “leads, over time, to full reimbursement of lost revenue.” .
2024-04-04 02:26:53
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