Office of Borough President James P. Molinaro
Staten Island, New York
B.P. Molinaro, Chamber of Commerce file suit against MTA
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Borough President James P. Molinaro, acting as a private individual, along with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and Clifford Curlin, a resident of Staten Island and commuter to Manhattan, today announced that they will file suit in Richmond County Supreme Court against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the MTA Board of Directors.
The suit demands that the MTA develop and implement a unified mass transportation policy for the people and businesses on Staten Island, and that the MTA include in the transportation policy plans to provide an omnibus service from Staten Island across the Bayonne Bridge to the Bayonne Rail link, to afford the citizens of Staten Island a more direct, timely, and convenient commute from the Island into mid-town Manhattan.
“It is high time that the needs of Staten Islanders are considered after years of neglect. Other boroughs benefit from bus routes that make connections to various transportation centers throughout the region, and Staten Island commuters should not be short-changed, Molinaro said. “Not only are we demanding that the MTA provide us with the service that we so desperately need, we are also demanding answers as to why this highly desirable service has not yet been put into place,” Molinaro said.
“While we have been told otherwise, the only meaningful restriction to bus service over the Bayonne Bridge is the opposition of the MTA,” Molinaro said. “Facilitating the logistics of the bus line would be relatively simple, and would cost, at maximum, around $300,000 annually,” Molinaro said.
“During the transit strike, I provided buses over the Bayonne Bridge to the Bayonne Rail Station. I have heard from many commuters who praised the route as time-saving and convenient. On a county-by-county basis, Staten Islanders face the longest commute times in the entire nation. It is high time that the call for bus service over the Bayonne is answered,” Molinaro concluded.
April 3, 2006