Talk Bronx New York

For whom the hike tolls: Drivers will have to pay 50 cents more to cross bridges and tunnels

Thank a driver today, straphangers.

More than 800,000 daily drivers have to dig deeper into their pockets and pay higher tolls to subsidize the bus, subway and commuter train system.

Tolls for most of the MTA’s major bridges and tunnels have been hiked 50 cents to $5.50 for those paying cash.

The E-ZPass toll is now $4.57, up from $4.15 for the major crossings: The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Queens Midtown Tunnel.

One-way tolls to use the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge are now $11 cash, up from $10. E-ZPass will set drivers back $9.14, up from $8.30.

“It’s outrageous,” said John Corlett, director of government affairs for Automobile Club of New York.

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M.T.A. Bridges and Tunnels Special Archive The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge under construction in the 1930s. It opened to traffic on April 29, 1939.

 After just 22 months of construction, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge opened to traffic 70 years ago today, rushed into completion for the start of the New York World’s Fair a day later. Previewing the opening ceremony — which included Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia; Robert Moses, the region’s master builder; and Othmar H. Ammann, the bridge’s engineer — The Times reported on Thursday, April 27, 1939:

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Bronx’ seaside: Affordability on the water in Throgs Neck

The Bridgeview Estates in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx.

A view of the Whitestone Bridge from the pool.

Directly across the Long Island Sound from the multimillion-dollar Mediterranean villas in Whitestone Woods, the Throgs Neck neighborhood in the Bronx might offer the most affordable coastal living experience in the five boroughs.

At Bridgeview Estates, 21 two- and three- bedroom condominiums, some with direct waterfront access, are available starting at $475,000. Located at Schurz and Davis Aves. in a neighborhood known for families, water proximity and the shopping stretch of E. Tremont Ave., Bridgeview Estates is a newly built gated condominium complex with views of the Throgs Neck and Whitestone bridges.

“At night, these two bridges light up and make this area something magical,” says Robert Van Zandt, the longtime North Bronx real estate developer who built the property. “We tried to make this an alternative living option to what people are paying in and around Manhattan. They just have to come out here and their mind will be changed.”

With beach clubs and catering halls, bungalows, condominiums and small single-family brick and wood homes a block from the water, Throgs Neck bustles with entire families taking walks together while kids ride bikes and play sports on front lawns. Up the street, the community has asked the city for a long-planned public golf course on a former landfill cornering Ferry Point Park. Recent rumors suggest it might happen, making the neighborhood more attractive to homeowners.

“This side of the bridges is more laid-back than the Queens side, with lower price points and a less suburban feel,” says Maria Paleatsos, who owns MP Power Realty in nearby Pelham Bay. “I’m not sure you can find anything this price on the water where families can live so well.”

Completed and ready for move-in, Bridgeview Estates includes balconies for each apartment, two upscale homes for sale in the multimillion- dollar range with large decks and swimming pools and a development team that truly cares for the area. Van Zandt and colleague Richard Rodriguez funded and coach the baseball team for Villa Maria, a local Catholic grammar school. Their own children graduated, yet they still remain as coaches. Van Zandt also funds three scholarships for students from financially saddled families.

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Talks Focus on Bronx Golf Course

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. announced on Monday that the city had started talking with Sanford Golf Design to design and build a championship-caliber golf course over a former garbage dump at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, potentially giving new life to a project that has been dogged by years of delay and problems. The project’s price tag has nearly quadrupled since it was proposed in 1998, to well over $80 million, by one estimate.

The proposed 18-hole, links-style Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course would be built using city capital funds, with an estimated completion by the fall of 2010. A public hearing on the proposal has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 26, 22 Reade Street in Manhattan. After construction has begun, the city plans to seek proposals from businesses to operate the golf course and make additional improvements, including a clubhouse and restaurant.

However, New York City Park Advocates, a community group that has often been critical of the Parks Department, quickly issued a statement criticizing the proposed deal. The group said that the city had not completed a study of the project’s environmental impact, noting that the site included a former landfill.

The project has a long and troubled history.

In 1998, during the administration of Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, the Parks Department announced plans to have a developer, Ferry Point Partners, build a golf course. It would have received a 35-year lease in exchange for financing the $22 million project, which was to be completed by 2001. The 222-acre site called for a driving range, a clubhouse, two playgrounds, a banquet hall and a restaurant overlooking the East River, as well as a waterfront esplanade.

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M.T.A. Bridges and Tunnels Special Archive The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge under construction in the 1930s. It opened to traffic on April 29, 1939

 After just 22 months of construction, the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge opened to traffic 70 years ago today, rushed into completion for the start of the New York World’s Fair a day later. Previewing the opening ceremony — which included Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia; Robert Moses, the region’s master builder; and Othmar H. Ammann, the bridge’s engineer — The Times reported on Thursday, April 27, 1939:

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