As most Staten Islanders probably know, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge just turned 50. Built to connect Staten Island to Brooklyn, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world from its opening in 1964 until the construction of the Humber Bridge in the UK in 1981.
Most Staten Islanders also know that the toll bridge, which now costs $15 cash to cross if you’re Staten Island–bound, was supposed to be toll-free once its construction was paid for. The thing is, on this count most Staten Islanders are wrong. According to a recent article in The New York Times, and a series of articles in the Staten Island Advance, this is nothing more than an urban myth, possibly as old as the bridge itself.
No one seems to know exactly how the myth got started. The Metropolitan Transit Authority even went back into its records to see if this plan to eventually make the bridge toll-free ever existed, but they came up with nothing. Maybe it was an off-the-cuff statement by a politician looking to pacify Staten Islanders who opposed the bridge. Or maybe it was a misunderstanding based on a similar plan for the Triborough Bridge, which was supposed to have become toll-free before Robert Moses had the law amended. Whatever the origin, whenever tolls go up on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the story is repeated by resentful Staten Island residents.
We’re sorry to have to break the news: The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was always going to be a toll bridge. Look on the bright side, though: the Staten Island Ferry is still free.
