Rockaway Beach, New York- Today, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Beach) and Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) announced at a press conference that the Rockaway Resident Rebate program at the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (CBB) will be expanded to all Queens County residents starting in spring of 2020. The necessary funding to expand this program was secured in both houses of the Legislature during the 2019-20 budget negotiations, utilizing the Outer Borough Transportation Account, which was established as part of the surcharge on for-hire vehicles passed last year.

In 1939 the New York City Parkway Authority built the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge as a low-level bascule bridge (drawbridge) and constructed a parkway along with beach improvements within the Rockaway Peninsula. The construction of the bridge and parkway was part of a program to develop Jamaica Bay as a residential and recreational area. In 1970, the Tri-borough Bridge Authority, and agency of the Metropolitan transportation Authority (MTA), completed the current CBB, a high level fixed bridge, which permitted boats to pass under it without the traffic delays caused by the lifting of a bascule bridge. The toll on the bridge was implemented originally only to cover the cost of building the new improvements starting at only 10 cents a trip and has since skyrocketed to over $4.00 a trip.

Currently, Rockaway and Broad Channel residents are rebated after each trip on the CBB by the MTA. Vehicles must be registered with E-ZPass to a valid resident address in Rockaway/Broad Channel in one of the following zip codes: 11691, 11692, 11693, 11694, 11695, and 11697. The expansion of the rebate will include all Queens County residents. In order to be eligible for this rebate, one must have a valid E-ZPass tag mounted in the vehicle and a vehicle registered to a valid resident address in Queens. This program is only available to passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles are not eligible.

“This is a HUGE victory not only for the residents of Rockaway, but for all the hardworking families and small business of Queens. Expanding the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge rebate program to all Queens residents is a complete economic game changer for our communities in allowing freedom and ease of access to the entire Borough,” said Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Beach). “I join Senator Addabbo in thanking the leadership of the Assembly, Senate, Governor Cuomo, and the MTA for listening to our persistent advocacy in making sure our community’s voices were heard.”

“The thorn in the side of the Rockaway’s full economic potential and the people’s desire for free access to their own borough’s beaches is finally being removed. I want to thank the MTA, Governor Andrew Cuomo, my leader Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, and Speaker Carl Heastie for understanding the concerns of my colleague Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato and I regarding the toll on the Crossbay Memorial Bridge, which has hampered the potential for economic opportunities on the Rockaway Peninsula for decades,” Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. said. “Once the toll is fully reimbursed for Queens residents, individuals can freely enjoy the Rockaway’s beaches, work in Rockaway, access the ferry services, eat at its restaurants and all else that Rockaway has to offer, without the additional financial burden.”

“The expansion of the Rockaway Resident Rebate program to cover all Queens residents is welcome news for all Queens motorists who use Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. “The additional rebate will encourage travel to the Rockaways and continue the economic expansion we have seen on the Peninsula. Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato and Senator Addabbo deserve to be commended for their work to secure the funding necessary to expand the rebate.”

"The Queens Chamber of Commerce has been advocating for removal of the Cross Bay toll since our first Queens Day in Albany in 2017. There is so much to be valued on both sides of the bridge, it makes sense to give all Queens residents the opportunity to take advantage of everything we have to offer. Many thanks to Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato and Senator Joseph P. Addabbo for working with the MTA to get the job done so expeditiously," said Thomas J. Grech, President and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.

Finally the great borough of Queens will be barrier free,” Dolores Orr, Chairperson of Community Board 14, said. “All Queens residents will now have the ability to move freely within the entire borough and enjoy the opportunities Rockaway has to offer in its restaurants, shopping, employment, schools, our beaches and boardwalk.”

“This extension of the toll rebate program to all residents of Queens will be much appreciated by all of Community Board 10's residents who need to travel to and from Rockaway for work and to go to the schools their children attend,” Betty Braton, Chairperson of Community Board 10, said. “It affords us and all Queens residents the opportunity to visit our borough's beaches without suffering the unfair cost of a toll on a bridge that connects one part of our borough to another part of it. Giant kudos to Senator Addabbo and Assembly member Pheffer Amato for the work they've done to remove this inequitable toll burden for those of us from all the mainland communities in Queens.”

“I never confuse good with perfect. I’m very happy for the rest of our fellow Queens residents to be able to share in the rebate program. I applaud our Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato and Senator Addabbo in this accomplishment” Dee Tubridy, owner of Bungalow Bar, said. “ As a lifelong business owner the perfect situation is to have the toll eliminated completely for all New York State residents, only then will the full economic impact be felt across the entire peninsula. “

“To say I am thrilled that the rebate program will be expanded to all Queens residents is an understatement- I feel like I’ve won the lottery! Over the years, I have spent thousands of dollars crossing over the bridge to bring my children to school and traveling to work, this is money back in my pocket that I can spend in our community,” Paula Vicari, a Howard Beach resident and Paraprofessional on the Rockaway Peninsula, said. “I truly thank the Assemblywoman and Senator for their work in expanding the rebate program and for allowing me and my family to access Rockaway without financial burden.”