(White Plains, NY) – Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) expressed serious concern in a letter delivered today to County Executive Robert P. Astorino about the staggering projected costs associated in building a much needed new Tappan Zee Bridge with a full transit system, including rail service. Astorino has asserted repeatedly that if full transit is not in place on the new bridge, then the project should be scrapped, even though everyone agrees that a new bridge is the region’s top infrastructure priority.
“You pledged to bring tax relief to Westchester County, but this would be the biggest tax hike in Westchester County history,” writes Jenkins. “Building a full mass transit system in Westchester County carries an estimated cost of $1-1.7 billion, plus the County would need to fund a large portion of the additional $80 million annually required to operate the system, which is more than the entire $1.68 billion budget of the county.”
The full text of Chairman Jenkins’s letter to County Executive Astorino is below:
Hon. Robert P. Astorino
County Executive
148 Martine Avenue
White Plains, NY 10601
Dear County Executive Astorino:
I write to express my serious concern about your recent comments that a new Tappan Zee Bridge should not be built unless it connects to a full transit system across Westchester and Rockland counties. In short, this position means you want to impose an over $1 billion tax hike on Westchester residents and businesses.
As you well know, the County does not have the resources to pay for such a system, and Governor Cuomo has made it clear that the State does not have the resources either. You pledged to bring tax relief to Westchester County, but this would be the biggest tax hike in Westchester County history.
Building a full mass transit system in Westchester County carries an estimated cost of $1-1.7 billion, plus a the County would need to fund a large portion of the additional $80 million annually required to operate the system, which is more than the entire $1.68 billion budget of the county.
In addition to the fiscal irresponsibility of your position, your comments have misrepresented the true nature of the project and threaten to needlessly stall the construction of a new bridge, which is finally on track after 10 years of delay.
New York State is currently designing the new Tappan Zee Bridge to support bus and rail transit. The new bridge will have immediate, dedicated express bus service, and the State is adding an additional lane that could be used for Bus Rapid Transit if money is found later to fund the full system. However, since there is no existing transit system to connect to the bridge now, postponing the construction of a replacement bridge which we need right away, while we wait for the financing of a future multi-billion dollar system is a dangerous and expensive proposition.
We finally have a real plan to build a new, better, transit capable Tappan Zee Bridge which will create tens of thousands of jobs and a safer commute for the tens of thousands of drivers that use the bridge every day. I urge you to reconsider your position and choose to work cooperatively to help achieve this vital new resource for our County, or otherwise stop advocating for a full transit system that will spell disaster for our taxpayers and businesses.
Thanks to Governor Cuomo, we are finally seeing real progress on construction, with environmental work already going on by the bridge and an aggressive schedule to begin construction by this fall. Standing against this progress, especially after our businesses and residents have already waited over a decade for a new bridge to be built, does a disservice to our constituents.
Sincerely,
Kenneth W. Jenkins
Chairman, Westchester County Board of Legislators