The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is reportedly demanding the organizers of the New York City Marathon to pay $750,000 to cowl the misplaced toll income that comes from shutting down the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
The New York Road Runners, which run the enduring marathon yearly, are being threatened with restricted use of the bridge in the event that they don’t pay up, based on the New York Times. If that does change into the case, the marathon may have a decreased participant pool this 12 months.
The Times cited inside memos, which level to robust negotiations from the MTA saying runners would solely be allowed to make use of the decrease deck of the bridge for the race. The marathon begins on Staten Island yearly, and using the Verrazano Bridge is important in bringing the runners to Brooklyn.
Runners cross the Verrazano Bridge earlier than competing within the 52nd Edition of the New York City Marathon on November 5, 2023. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP through Getty Images)
However, the memos in latest weeks have stated the New York Road Runners (NYRR) may select both the higher or decrease stage, however they can not use each. The marathon has used each the higher and decrease ranges for the previous 36 years.
“New Yorkers love Marathon Sunday, but taxpayers cannot be expected to subsidize a wealthy non-government organization like the New York Road Runners to the tune of $750,000,” Catherine Sheridan, the president of the MTA Bridges and Tunnels, stated in a press release through The New York Post.
“The MTA is prepared to continue working toward a final agreement with the NYRR, provided it leads, over time, to full reimbursement for the lost revenue.”
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The New York City Marathon isn’t only a race for a lot of around the globe trying to be topped champion, but additionally for hundreds trying to race cash for good causes. The marathon is predicted to draw 50,000 members this 12 months.
The New York Road Runners argue that entrants will lower if they will’t use each ranges of the bridge for the race. And if that’s the case, the 26.2-mile race might want to go on longer, which means different bridges and streets all through the 5 boroughs will have to be shut down longer.
The group has requested New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to weigh in on the negotiations with the MTA, as CEO Rob Simmelkjaer requested Hochul ask the company to “negotiate in good faith.”
First Deputy of Police Commissioner Tania Kinsella (2nd from R) and Tania Figueroa (R) crossing end line of TCS New York City marathon in open girls’s division in Central Park. A complete of 51,402 runners completed the TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) New York City Marathon. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket through Getty Images)
Simmelkjaer added the New York Road Runners had already agreed to up its fee to $200,000 for the closure of the bridge for this 12 months’s race after paying $150,000 final 12 months.
“We have agreed to increase payments to the MTA in the form of both direct payments and the purchase of advertising on subways and buses,” Simmelkjaer’s letter learn. “The MTA has made few concessions in these negotiations, however, and continues to insist on 100% reimbursement of lost toll revenue.”
Simmelkjaer additionally identified to Hochul within the letter that the New York Road Runners has “an extraordinary impact on the state and city economy — bringing in more than one million spectators and 50,000 runners to New York City’s streets each year.”
The New York Road Runners had a complete earnings of $100.2 million final fiscal 12 months after bringing in $85 million in income in 2022.
The MTA has been a sizzling subject for city-goers in latest weeks, because the board just lately authorized a congestion pricing plan that might hit drivers with a $15 toll to enter Midtown Manhattan beneath sixtieth avenue, inflicting widespread debate.
Runners cross the Verrazano Bridge earlier than competing within the 52nd Edition of the New York City Marathon on November 5, 2023. (KENA BETANCUR/AFP through Getty Images)
The MTA says elevated tolls will give them the billions wanted to improve transit and railroad techniques.
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