Assemblywoman Tackles Toll Evaders
Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato recently initiated an operation with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Bridge and Tunnel Officers to tackle persistent toll evaders on the Cross Bay Bridge. Those targeted are the motorists who look to intentionally defraud the system by preventing their license plate or car registration from being recognized. In one day, officers intercepted over a dozen vehicles between Broad Channel and the Rockaway peninsula which racked up an estimated $150,000 in unpaid tolls and fines. During the operation, cars were not only ticketed but confiscated and impounded.
Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato has worked closely with Christina Lampropoulous, President of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority’s Superior Officers Benevolent Association, and the President of MTA Bridges and Tunnels Catherine Sheridanz on new and effective ways to combat toll evaders on the bridge. The three agreed on the seriousness of this problem and expressed how those who evade a toll end negatively impacting those who follow the law.
“This partnership for combating toll evaders is incredibly welcomed in our community and I am so proud to be working with the MTA and TBTA Officers. This sends a clear message that anyone who deliberately scrapes their license plates, uses deflectors and covers, or false paper plates will be found and held accountable for paying tolls and following the law like everyone else,” Pheffer Amato said.
The Assemblywoman has partnered with the State troopers, TBTA officers and local police in numerous operations to go after toll evaders since cashless tolling took effect on the Cross Bay Bridge. Pheffer Amato secured that there will be several surprise interception operations in the coming months to further protect other drivers and hold toll evaders responsible.
