Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce and Assemblyman Rooney ASSAIL NEW YORK MTA TOLL HIKES

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce and Assemblyman John Rooney said the announcement by New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority that it will raise tolls 10 percent and that drivers who registered for E-ZPass in New Jersey will no longer be given a discount is patently unfair and is another example of how New Jerseyans are left to pick up the slack for New York.

“It is bad enough that New York will not be contributing anything to the new Hudson River tunnel crossing, but to discriminate against drivers who register for E-ZPass in New Jersey is outrageous,” said DeCroce, R- Morris and Passaic. “This scheme is so inequitable that it could have come from Governor Corzine himself. The MTA needs to reconsider this flawed methodology immediately.”

Commencing on July 12, the MTA will increase tolls 10 percent as it attempts to address its huge operating deficit.

“Once again, Governor Corzine is mysteriously silent on a New Jersey-New York issue that hurts residents of the Garden State,” said Rooney, R-Bergen. “Perhaps he was too busy conjuring up his own ways to raise taxes on residents of our state.

“If he is truly a representative of the people, then he would have objected to the discriminatory way the discount issue was handled. This is another example that demonstrates that he is out of touch with the working middle class. The constitutionality of this tax is highly questionable.”