Officials Demand $750K From NYC Marathon Organizers for Use of Verrazzano Bridge During Race

The New York City Marathon is the largest and most high-profile in the world. What do you do if you're an official from the New York City Transit agency? Try to shake them down, of course—in this case to the tune of $750,000 to pay for the lost toll revenue they claim comes from closing off the Verrazzano Bridge to vehicular traffic during the test of endurance.

Runners have used both decks of the bridge for the last 36 years—and organizers claim a report shows the spectacle generates an estimated $427 million from tourism, tax revenues, and overall economic activity. That should more than make up for the lost toll revenue, they argue.

“The impact of MTA’s request would represent a material change to the cost structure and would require an increase to how much runners pay to run the Marathon, making it less affordable for local runners and those who travel to New York City from around the world—both of whom contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the City’s and State’s economy,” Crystal Howard, a spokesperson for the organization, said in an emailed statement. She said the organization has repeatedly asked the MTA to provide data to back up their claim of $750,000 in lost revenue loss but have not received it.

Critics slammed the MTA for giving the marathon a run for its money, when the system lost $690 million to fare and toll evasion in 2022 — with $46 million in toll-dodging on bridges and tunnels alone. “They can find that money in nine hours if they enforce the law,” Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella told The Post.

So far the city isn't bending, and it has even resorted to hard-ball tactics like refusing access to one of the bridge's decks if the marathon doesn't fork over the cash: As the negotiations have unfolded, the MTA initially threatened that runners — who start the marathon on Staten Island — would only be allowed to use the darker lower deck of the bridge for the 26.2-mile race if organizers don’t pay up.

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Like AB5, CA's Fast-Food Minimum Wage Hike Results in Layoffs, Closures, and Higher Prices

It seems apropos that April Fool's Day began the start of a $20.00 minimum wage for California fast food workers. AB1228 or the FAST Act (Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act) was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2023 and scheduled to take effect in April of 2024. Despite the warnings from economists, franchisors, and anyone with a brain, Newsom and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) plowed ahead, claiming this was a victory for workers who could now earn a "living wage."

Inflation has driven up operational costs for businesses across the US and shrunk profit margins for major food chains in the past few years. This has led to higher menu prices (like the "$18 Big Mac") and slowing sales for every major fast food company. Another anchor dragging on the restaurant business in many regions was at least two years of covid stimulus coupled with rent moratoriums, creating aggressive labor shortages and raising wages in upwards of $16 per hour for brand new no-skill employees.

California crime, and now this new minimum-wage hike, these businesses are opting to shutter their doors, and it is doubtful they will ever return. At 5.3 percent, California has the highest unemployment rate in the nation—expect that number to increase with the layoffs and closures as a result of the FAST Act.

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