When a city is cash-strapped due to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, unseemly measures are taken. The New York City Marathon, a shining sports jewel that shows the city in its best light, will be taxed for using the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Marathoners have crossed from Staten Island to Brooklyn for free for 36 years. The new price tag? $750,000.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) issued the edict, initially demanding that the runners use the only the darker, less TV-coverage-friendly lower deck. They have since relented, giving the marathon organizers the choice of upper or lower decks, but the race will not be completed as soon or as efficiently if the most crowded beginning stage is cut by 50%, claim organizers.
City officials claim that is the amount of revenue lost by closing the bridge to allow foot traffic during the marathon. This callous new fine comes on the heels of the egregious new traffic congestion fines on automobiles below 60th St.
Film buffs and readers of a certain age will recall the bridge from a famous scene from Saturday Night Fever.
Interestingly, engineers claim the Verrazzano-Narrows, the second-longest suspension bridge in the world, is susceptible to the same kind of chain reaction collapse that occurred after a cargo ship rammed into the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore nine days ago. The 13,700 foot span is named for Giovanni da Verrazzano. In 1524, he was the first European explorer to discover the island that would become New York City.
