LOCAL ASSEMBLYMAN SAYS BRIDGE NOT A SOUND IDEA
Received from Michael Montesano, Sea Cliff
May 16, 2017
Dear Editor:
Bayville Mayor Paul Rupp and village trustees recently reminded the taxpayers on Long Island of Governor Cuomo’s multi-million dollar study on the Cross-Sound Bridge. This project has been continuously blocked year after year for decades, with opposition from elected officials, Long Island families, small businesses, and environmental groups.
This is another example of petty partisan politics the governor is using to advance his run for the White House, and the taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill. The governor is catering to special interests, rather than our families on Long Island.
The most recent study, conducted in 2007, estimated that the construction alone would cost taxpayers over one hundred million dollars. This does not include the ecological damage that would disrupt and cripple the ecosystem and wetlands, our pristine shoreline, and the historic North Shore of Long Island.
Countless properties would be bought up by eminent domain, driving property taxes up even more. Our property taxes are too high as it is without adding this undertaking.
This is not a sound project and I simply will not support it. I’ve been in Albany fighting to end these pointless studies which never bear fruit. All of the Cross-Sound Bridge studies over the last decade say the same thing, it’s bad for the environment, bad for business, and bad for the taxpayer, yet here we are digging into it again. This is a waste of time and money.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Michael Montesano
15th Assembly District
May 16, 2017
Dear Editor:
Bayville Mayor Paul Rupp and village trustees recently reminded the taxpayers on Long Island of Governor Cuomo’s multi-million dollar study on the Cross-Sound Bridge. This project has been continuously blocked year after year for decades, with opposition from elected officials, Long Island families, small businesses, and environmental groups.
This is another example of petty partisan politics the governor is using to advance his run for the White House, and the taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill. The governor is catering to special interests, rather than our families on Long Island.
The most recent study, conducted in 2007, estimated that the construction alone would cost taxpayers over one hundred million dollars. This does not include the ecological damage that would disrupt and cripple the ecosystem and wetlands, our pristine shoreline, and the historic North Shore of Long Island.
Countless properties would be bought up by eminent domain, driving property taxes up even more. Our property taxes are too high as it is without adding this undertaking.
This is not a sound project and I simply will not support it. I’ve been in Albany fighting to end these pointless studies which never bear fruit. All of the Cross-Sound Bridge studies over the last decade say the same thing, it’s bad for the environment, bad for business, and bad for the taxpayer, yet here we are digging into it again. This is a waste of time and money.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Michael Montesano
15th Assembly District
