"They've" done it again! "You want me to what

[ericenglund]

Not that I care how many firemonkeys are killed in crashes.

Ignorant

[emtannie]

Ignorant

Agreed.... if meant in sarcasm, it didn't come across that way... and I suspect if a "firemonkey" made that comment about a medic, they would be tarred and feathered.... That comment was unprofessional.

[itku2er]

Any loss of life is a tragedy no matter what profession you are in, I will say this I am in agreement that is one of the most unprofessional comments that has ever been made on this site. Apparently some have forgotten that it takes us all working together to make a profession work. Maybe its time for someone to have a major reality check.

[emsweetheart]

How can anyone say that they do not care how many people die? Are you that cold hearted and incompassionate that you have lost the basic urge for compassion for your fellow man? Maybe you need some professional help to help you deal with this attitude of uncaring. Maybe its just the region I am from but here we greive when anyone in the Fire EMS or Law Enforcement community dies we all come together as one and pay our last respects to that person. Call me stupid but I just cant grasp the reality of that startement, the general rule of thumb is treat others as you would have them treat you, compassion goes along way in any aspect of life.

[Richard B the EMT]

All right, people, looks like I kind of misspoke. Per the following Associated Press article, the MTA's Bridges and Tunnels Authority won't be seeking cash from NYPD, FDNY, or FDNY EMS Command vehicle crews using their facilities, but will bill the City of New York, at possible cost to NYC of $10,000,000 a year. That is Ten Million dollars!

******************************************************************

Sept. 24, 6:12 PM EDT

Agency to bill NYC for bridge, tunnel crossings

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted Wednesday to start charging government agencies for police officers, firefighters and other public employees who cross its bridges and tunnels.

The MTA board approved the plan 7-6 after a debate that pitted Mayor Michael Bloomberg's appointees against several of the other members.

City budget director Mark Page, one of the mayor's four representatives on the MTA board, said "the ill will arising from this proposal" would probably outweigh the expected $10 million a year in additional revenue.

MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said he sympathized with the city's position but added, "This is an accounting issue. And it's something that we need to do given the current state of the MTA's finances."

The plan will go into effect in six weeks and affects dozens of agencies including the New York Police Department, the New York State Police and the Nassau and Suffolk county police departments.

The agencies currently use free E-ZPass fare payment tags. When the new policy takes effect, the agency vehicles will continue to use their tags but the MTA will bill the agencies for the tolls.

The policy applies to the MTA's five bridges and two tunnels.

The vote came after the MTA faced a controversy over the free use of E-ZPass tags by current and former members of its board.

Board members voted in June to give up their free lifetime passes, a perk criticized amid a financial crunch at the nation's largest mass transit agency.

© 2008 The Associated Press.

[JPINFV]

To be fair, bridges and roads aren't free or cheap. The money has to come from somewhere, even if it's just shuffled around on paper.

[Don1977]

Wow Dust, you just proved what a real winner you are.......

anyway, PA has had easy pass for a while, works well, but if you are coding on it, you don't need it.

[dahlio]

Just drive through.

It's something I ran into here and there doing long distance transports. I'd get to the toll plaza and just go through because it's not like I was about to shell out my own $$. The software/picture system looks up the license plate and either sends a "ticket" or they apply the charge to the appropriate account.

And a ticket's what I got, or at least what my service got. Did have to drive on to the highway once for an emergency, and they even ticketed us for that. Obviously we didn't pay it for the emergency call, but the other one, I believe they ended up paying.

[Dustdevil]

...I suspect if a "firemonkey" made that comment about a medic, they would be tarred and feathered....

They say it everyday, as they take our jobs and the food out of the mouths of our families. But I understand you don't get that perspective much in Canadia.

How can anyone say that they do not care how many people die? <snip> Call me stupid but I just cant grasp the reality of that startement (sic)...

Okay, you asked for it. You're stupid.

The context of the statement was that I don't have any more concern about firemonkeys dying in accidents than the civilians who die in the same accidents. That is equal compassion for all men, apparently something you either do not have or do not understand.

[Richard B the EMT]

As the Original Poster, I ask we try to stay on topic.

It has been pointed out that someone has to pay for bridge and tunnel maintenance, but can the number of emergency and city services vehicles be doing that much need for that maintenance?

There is one sector within my home area police precinct, where there is one of these affected bridges between the northern and southern halves of that sector. "100 Charlie" is based out of the 100th Precinct, literally at the southern end of the Cross Bay Bridge. On the northern end of the bridge is the community of Broad Channel, covering an area about a mile long, and maybe a half mile wide at the widest point of the residential area, with a wildlife area of about a mile and a half long, just north of the residential area.

'Hundred Charlie" also covers some of the Rockaway Peninsula, on my side of Jamaica Bay.

Now, presume a car accident in the wildlife area on the Cross Bay Blvd. Responding: NYPD 100 Charlie, 100 David, 100 Boy, FDNY Engine 266, FDNY EMS (BLS) Ambulance 47 Boy, and due to it being reported to be a rollover, FDNY EMS (ALS) Ambulance 47 Willie.

That is 6 City vehicles, but we don't have an accident in "The Channel" within each 24 hours, just a few a week. The MTA might go broke waiting for them to go over the bridge. Admittedly, 100 Charlie probably crosses over several times each 8 hour tour.

On a slightly different track, due to the isolation of both the Rockaway Peninsula and Broad Channel, and the fact that the tolls were supposed to have paid off the bonds for the bridge decades ago, the residents of both these areas have a "deep resident discount" for when they go over the Cross Bay Bridge.

There will be war if the MTA tries to eliminate that discount. I was a part of the previous war to try to eliminate that toll for all, not just the 2 communities.

Out of curiosity, does anyone in EMT City know of any other toll bridges or tunnels connecting 2 parts of the same county or parrish?

As a followup on the previous newspaper clipping...

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/0...backfire_s.html

Nixing free city E-ZPasses may backfire, sez honcho

BY PETE DONOHUE

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, September 25th 2008, 2:10 AM

The MTA may regret revoking the city's free E-ZPasses, a City Hall bigwig warned as the move was ratified Wednesday.

City budget director Mark Page called the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's money-generating initiative "ill-advised" as the city and MTA have a complex financial relationship, with several big-ticket items in dispute.

"I think ... an ill will arising from this proposal is probably more expensive - in terms of the likelihood of coming together on the extremely important issues that face all of us - than it is worth," Page said.

Page is one of Mayor Bloomberg's four MTA board appointees. His comments came just before the board voted, 7 to 6, to bill city departments for bridge and tunnel trips.

Those departments include the mayor's office, the mayor's Office of Emergency Management and the Sanitation, Police, Fire and Parks departments.

The policy change also affects some state and local agencies and will raise some $10 million for the MTA as it tries to close looming budget gaps.

The MTA and the city are at odds over gap-closing plans. The MTA wants the city and state to pay the cost of transporting schoolchildren. The state and city now pay half the cost. The MTA absorbs the balance.

Bloomberg contends the city already does plenty for the authority, such as policing the subways.

All four Bloomberg representatives opposed the E-ZPass measure. They were joined by Norman Seabrook, the correction officers union president, and Mitchell Pally, a partner in a Long Island law firm.

Board members who voted to end the city's free rides said they were trying to stave off potential service cuts.

"We have an obligation to try and find ways to keep this system solvent and keep service levels up," board member Allen Cappelli said.

pdonohue@nydailynews.com