ALBANY – It appears that Governor Andrew Cuomo will have his way and take control of the New York State Bridge Authority, which operates the five crossings over the Hudson River in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Back in March, state lawmakers defeated Cuomo’s plan to merge the Bridge Authority with the Thruway Authority, but legislation that did pass allows him to replace all of the current Bridge Authority members.
The authority has seven positions. Two are currently vacant.
The Senate Finance Committee today (Thursday) will consider a resolution by Cuomo to remove Chairman Richard Gerentine and Roderick Dressell of Ulster County, Vice-chairman Roger Higgins along with Diane Jablonski of Dutchess County and Henry Stanton who represents Westchester.
In addition to removing the existing board members, Cuomo is seeking to appoint Lou Lanza and Llan Gilbert of Westchester, Michael O’Brien of Dutchess, Joan McDonald representing Putnam, Alexander Berardi of Ulster, along with Maria Bruni and Colin Jarvis from Orange County.
The legislation will also authorize all operations of the Bridge Authority to go into a shared services agreement with the Thruway Authority, which insiders say is the first step toward a complete takeover of the Bridge Authority by the Thruway Authority.
State Senator Sue Serino was adamantly opposed to the merger when it was first proposed. “We led the fight against the Bridge Authority merger because we have significant concerns about what it would mean for toll prices and local control of the bridges. Defeating the merger was a major victory for the region, but the devil is always in the details and language tucked into the final state budget,” said Serino as she urged her colleagues to denounce the new plan. “It raises significant red flags and about the state’s intentions and I urge my colleagues to oppose any unnecessary appointments.”
Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro said “We all expected the Governor would take this action. The real test for these individuals and the Governor is whether or not they’ll guarantee bridge authority revenue and expenses remain for Hudson Valley bridges. Fleecing hardworking commuters to support another bloated or broke state agency or authority would be offensive at best.”
The Bridge Authority owns and maintains the Newburgh-Beacon, Bear Mountain, Kingston-Rhinecliff, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson, and Rip Van Winkle bridges along with the Walkway Over the Hudson, while the Thruway Authority owns and operates the Governor Mario M. Cuomo (Tappan Zee) Bridge.
