WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. Special to WPCNR from McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt. March 9, 2012:

Charles Goldberger, pictured above, a partner in the White Plains-based law firm McCullough Goldberger & Staudt, LLP, has been appointed Village Attorney for the Village of Mamaroneck, NY. The Village Board of Trustees unanimously approved the nomination that was effective immediately.  Mayor Norman Rosenblum selected Goldberger for nomination after reviewing the credentials of four other law firms that had expressed interest in the position.

“Key to making this selection was not only the expertise of Charlie Goldberger but that of the entire firm,” Mayor Ronsenblum said.He added that Goldberger had successfully represented the Village in several court matters, including an ongoing case involving a failed development project that is near resolution.  The Mayor also recalled that when he served as a Trustee for the Village of Larchmont about three decades ago, he had been impressed with Staudt’s work as Village Attorney of Larchmont.

“McCullough Goldberger & Staudt gives us the background and advantage of their research in specific areas, such as drafting local laws, court time and trials and so on,” the Mayor said. “The bottom line is I am confident that Charlie Goldberger and the firm itself will be the best lawyer the Village can have.”

Goldberger said that his representation of the Village in two court cases, including the ongoing Sheldrake Estates Condominiums LLC and Sheldrake Lofts, LLC vs. the Village of Mamaroneck, offered the Village an introduction to the municipal and litigation work the law firm provides.

“This municipality expands the scope of our municipal work and that is one of the main reasons why we sought the appointment,” Goldberger said. “It adds one more large Village to our municipal practice. On a personal note, I am really looking forward to the challenge.”

The Village Attorney’s responsibilities include: attending and providing counsel to the Board of Trustees at its twice-monthly sessions, dealing with contractual claims, as well as representing the Village in court cases.

McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt, LLP was established in 1984 by the merger of Taylor, McCullough & Geoghegan with Fredericks, Goldberger & Liberman, two firms with long, successful histories in Westchester County. The firm’s strong municipal, zoning, real estate and banking background combined with its litigation experience have resulted in a diversified firm with the depth and range to fully service client matters—from inception, through negotiations and to conclusion, including litigation when necessary.

The appointment enhances the already impressive municipal practice of McCullough Goldberger & Staudt. James Staudt, a partner, is currently the Village Attorney for the Village of Larchmont. The firm also serves as Village Attorney to the Villages of Croton-on-Hudson and Bronxville.  Additionally the firm has been Special Counsel to the City of Yonkers in connection with its complete Zoning Code revision, the Village of Ossining in connection with its Comprehensive Plan/Zoning Code, and the Village of Scarsdale regarding its downtown mixed-use zoning.

 

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WPCNR STAGE DOOR. Theatrical Review by John F. Bailey March 6, 2012:

 

Come on Cutes, get on your dancing boots and come dance with the “Fab Five”:

 

 

 

The delightful “Sutton Fosteresque” Dierdre Haren, ( far left)  the comedic gamin-belter  Stacey Harris (being held aloft),  the sultry Mary Millben, (front right), the debonair manic Harold Lloyd look-alike,  Blake Slaybaugh (back right) and the  high flying leading man, Sean Watkins (second from left.

 

The effervescent stars of  ‘S Wonderful give us a graduate course in Gershwin that romances, enhances,whisks us  magically through the greatest love songs of all time.  Here they are performing the intoxicating Just Another Rumba!

 

‘S Wonderful, opened at the Westchester Broadway Theatre  Friday night, resuming for just the next three weeks Wednesday  is more than a review, but five shows-in-a-show stringing out a Gershwin Galaxy of Hits in a Rhapsody in Blue from  the songwriting team that captured love in song for decades.  ‘S Wonderful, put together by  Ray Roderick at the request of the Gershwin estate  will make you feel like dancing again.

 

It  weaves 50 George and Ira Gershwin classic songs into a non-stop extravaganza of electrifying dance routines (each completely different and attention-getting), clean comedy and lovingly rendered songs drawing bravos from theatre aficionados on their feet wanting more Friday night. From Rhapsody in Blue to  Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off  to Embraceable You  all the Gershwin “Oldies But Forevers” are back to show the youngsters what love feels like, and the oldsters those wonderful feelings again.

 

The moment the man in white tail and black tie, Ken Lundie seats himself elegantly at the Yamaha the unforgettable all-time  signature clarinet riff  of Rhapsody in Blue  followed with ‘S Wonderful sung by the five actors who carry this show  takes flight! The committed high energy cast never comes down. They are in the stars!

 

Blake Slaybaugh left, hooked up with “The Chic Thief,” Dierdre Haren, singing I’ve Got a Crush on You.

 

The hour and a quarter first Act delivers The Gershwin songs in time capsules. The first episode sets us in the 1920s in a where-else – a newspaper copy room where Mr. Slaybaugh, a ringer for the mannerisms of the silent star of the twenties, Harold Lloyd,  dreams of life as a glamorous investigative reporter. His Nice Work if You Can Get It,  (dreaming of love) followed by  I’ve Got Rhythm arranged and coreographed in a clever typewriting sequence sets the the news room scene.

 

Enter “The Chic Thief,” the ultra 1920s, “it” girl in Diedre Haren  as Leslie who places an ad for Boy Wanted. Harold realizes that Leslie’s description matches a jewelry thief called “The Chic Thief.” He follows her  on a trolley, clever created on stage) to where she works selling wedding dresses, in a very clever surveillance sequence. Eventually Leslie and Harold are apprehended but not before she sings I’ve Got a Crush on You just before she and Harold are hauled off to jail, but they will be together after 10 years.

 

Mr. Slaybaugh’s comic timing, high kicks and dead-on sight gags make the number work, as he sings Kickin the Clouds Away.  Ms. Haren’s Leslie is a lovely energetic comic foil with a sweet crystal voice of a star to be. Her energy and presence on stage deliver the same j’n c’est quoi as Sutton Forster. She alone is a reason you should see this show, in addition to the other 4 stars.

 

 

Mary Millben as Nina takes center stage in vignette two as the scene shifts to New Orleans where she tells the story of her and her friend Jane (Stacy Harris) in  a series of musical postcards Jane sends Nina from around the world  Ms. Millben’s comfortable contralto (between Della Reese and Ella Fitzgerald) captures your attention with The Man I Love (whom we learn Jane has run away with). 

 

Ms. Millben, making her New York debut in this show, (after appearing in the Super Bowl with Bruce Springsteen and at Arena Stage in Washington with Maurice Hines,  delivers another Gershwin classic, Summertime, trioettes with Ms. Harris and Mr. Slaybaugh on There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon; duets with Ms. Harris on A Foggy Day. The glamour of travel is captured by the seamless change of scene by the master of the footlights, Andrew Gmoser.  Miss Harris and Ms. Millben finish off this set of whirlwind travel with a standing ovation version of It Ain’t Necessarily So and Of Thee I Sing.

 

 

Act One’s most charming skit depicts the heartbreak and longing songs of the war years, featuring Ms. Haren (left) and Mr. Watkins as a romantic couple. Here Set Designer John Farrell creates Paris very cleverly and of course Ms. Haren fits right in this milieu. She and Mr. Watkins  as Gene, her sailor romantic lead, whom she meets in a café where she is working naturally deliver a very believable romance in 25 minutes. As Mr. Watkins says to Ms. Haren, “if only the Mona Lisa had a smile like that!” And he’s right! She was born to be a leading lady!

 

 

Ms. Haren and Mr. Watkins executive a marvelous dance set to Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off (one of my favorite Gershwins) and a very fulfilling, touching Love is Here to Stay.   When the war is over, and the two are reunited we are treated to Strike Up the Band.

 

 

 

 

 

Act Two gives the comic and songsmithette talents of Stacy Harris (on Sean Watkins’ houlders) as Jane has her moments—in Hollywood. She’s a makeup artist making up Mr.Watkins who plays a star actor very in love with himself.

 

Ms. Harris demonstrates spot-on comic timing and the audience gets every line. Ms. Harris is given a chance to screen test in a love scene  with Mr. Watkins, and when she is kissed by him, she sings Do It Again that scorches the lyrics.  Her “Do it Again” silences the audience it is so sexy. This woman deserves a sit-com.  Ms. Harris and Mr. Watkins  maintain a great comic joy in this sequence. She also does a terrific pratfall through a mirror to set up the sequence!

 

 

Fastforward to the finale which is a tour de force of Gershwin songs in short snips, cleverly conceived using the I-Pod player as a device to switch from Gershwin Era to Gershwin Era.  Here in another exhausting high energy sequence the Fab Five do Swanee, Someone to Watch Over Me (Ms. Haren), They Can’t Take That Away From Me, Embraceable You.

 

When the houselights  finally dim, the audience applauds and they do not stop. The Fab Five and the Magnificent 7  (the orchestra) perform some more with a boffo finale.

 

 

If you want hear  one of the great orchestras rounded up  to Gershwin Gershwin, these are the players: Ken Lundie on piano, Kathy Braver, violin, Ron Kozak, Reeds, Jason Colby, Trumpet; Jason Ingram,Trombone;Ron Raffio, Bass/Tuba; Ron Ross, Percussion. This group is seamless, leaves you starry-eyed, teary-eyed and sensitive with there dead solid perfect musical phrasings.

 

What a show! You can only see it for the next three weeks. If you want to brush up on your Gershwin, this is the show. If you want to get your squeeze in the mood, this is the show, if want be be wrapped stars, romance, and good feelings  this is the show. And you get dinner with the price of your ticket. All That and Gershwin too! Who Could Ask for Anything More!

 

For ticket information contact (914) 592-2222, or go to the theatre website at  www.broadwaytheatre.com

 

 

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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. From Michele Schoenfeld. March 5,2012:

 

            White Plains High School Guidance Counselor Alvera Pollard received the University of  Miami School Counselor of the Year Award for Excellence in Counseling.  A plaque was presented to Ms. Pollard at the School Counselor College Conference at the University, in Coral Gables, Florida, in February. 

 

            Ms. Pollard was nominated for the award by a University of Miami student, Michael Valentino, who graduated from White Plains High School in 2010.  Criteria for the honor specified a guidance counselor who was “motivating, inspiring and encouraging throughout the student’s high school career.” 

 

The essay written by Valentino was selected to be read at the opening ceremony of the conference, and related the difficulties he faced in an effort to pursue his education.  Both he and his sister, whom Ms. Pollard also counseled at the High School, overcame underprivileged backgrounds and benefited greatly from her faith and support.  Valentino said, “Ms. Pollard inspired him to be the best than I can be and I will carry that inspiration with me throughout life.”

 

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WPCNR FBI WIRE. From the Federal Bureau of Investigation. March 1, 2012:

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Janice K. Fedarcyk, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Raymond W. Kelly, the Police Commissioner of the City of New York (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of charges against 36 defendants involved in a systematic scheme to defraud private insurance companies of more than $279 million under New York’s no-fault automobile insurance law.

The indictment includes racketeering charges against eight members and associates of a criminal organization consisting primarily of individuals of Russian descent who were the owners and controllers of fraudulent medical clinics (the “No Fault Organization”), as well as 10 licensed doctors and three attorneys. The alleged scheme identified today is the largest single no-fault automobile insurance fraud ever charged, and the first case of its kind to allege violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act.

All of the defendants were arrested this morning in connection with today’s charges. Thirty-five were taken into custody in New York and New Jersey and will be presented and arraigned in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore H. Katz later this afternoon. One defendant was arrested in Duluth, Minnesota and will be presented tomorrow in federal court in the District of Minnesota.

 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Today’s charges expose a colossal criminal trifecta, as the fraud’s tentacles simultaneously reached into the medical system, the legal system, and the insurance system, pulling out cash to fund the defendants’ lavish lifestyles. As alleged, the scheme relied on a cadre of corrupt doctors who essentially peddled their medical licenses like a corner fraudster might sell fake IDs, except those medical licenses allowed unlawful entry, not to a club or a bar, but to a multi-billion-dollar pool of insurance proceeds.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk said: “Our investigation uncovered a pattern of lucrative fraud exploiting New York’s no-fault auto insurance system to the tune of more than a quarter-of-a-billion dollars. The criminal enterprise, while it lasted, was obscenely profitable. The scheme not only unjustly enriched the defendants and defrauded insurance companies. Auto insurance fraud is also a crime that indirectly victimizes every driver in New York.”

NYPD Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said: “Our undercover officers were treated like thousands of other ‘patients’ receiving therapy, tests, and medical equipment they didn’t need. I want to congratulate the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the agents and detectives assigned to the joint FBI-NYPD Organized Crime Task Force for bringing this investigation to a successful conclusion.”

The following allegations are based on the unsealed indictment and other documents filed today in Manhattan federal court:

Under New York state law, every vehicle registered in the state is required to have no-fault automobile insurance, which enables the driver and passengers of a registered and insured vehicle to obtain benefits of up to $50,000 per person for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, regardless of fault (the “No-Fault Law”). The No-Fault Law requires prompt payment for medical treatment, thereby obviating the need for claimants to file personal injury lawsuits in order to be reimbursed. Under the No-Fault Law, patients can assign their right to reimbursement from an insurance company to others, including medical clinics that provide treatment for their injuries. New York state law also requires that all medical clinics in the state be incorporated, owned, operated, and/or controlled by a licensed medical practitioner in order to be eligible for reimbursement under the No-Fault Law. Insurance companies will not honor claims for medical treatments from a medical clinic that is not actually owned, operated, and/or controlled by a licensed medical practitioner.

From at least 2007 through 2012, the No-Fault Organization has engaged in a massive and sophisticated scheme to defraud automobile insurance companies of hundreds of millions of dollars by, among other things, creating and operating medical clinics that provided unnecessary and excessive medical treatments in order to take advantage of the No-Fault Law. In order to mislead New York authorities and private insurers, the true owners of these medical clinics (“Clinic Controllers”), almost all of whom were also members and associates of a criminal organization consisting primarily of individuals of Russian descent, paid licensed medical practitioners, including doctors, to use their licenses to incorporate the professional corporations, through which the medical clinics billed the private insurers for the bogus medical treatments. These doctors effectively operated as “straw owners” of the clinics.

The Clinic Controllers paid thousands of dollars in kickbacks to runners who recruited automobile accident passengers to receive medically unnecessary treatments from the no-fault clinics. They also instructed the clinic doctors/straw owners to prescribe excessive and unwarranted referrals for various “modality treatments” for every patient they saw. The treatments included physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic treatments—as many as five times per week for each—and treatments for psychology, neurology, orthopedics, and audiology. Clinic doctors also prescribed unnecessary MRI’s, x-rays, orthopedics, and medical supplies. The Clinic Controllers received thousands of dollars in kickbacks for patient referrals from the owners of the modality clinics (“Modality Controllers”), who were members and associates of the same criminal organization to which the members of the No-Fault Organization and Clinic Controllers belonged.

The Clinic Controllers also referred patients to personal injury lawyers who filed bogus lawsuits on behalf of the patients and coached them on what injuries to claim in order to get as many treatments as possible. The personal injury lawyers also paid the Clinic Controllers thousands of dollars in kickbacks for these referrals.

In order to conceal and disguise the millions of dollars in claims paid by the automobile insurance companies, the members of the No-Fault Organization laundered the money through shell companies and corrupt check-cashing services. Often, checks would be written from the No-Fault or Modality Clinics with the payee line left blank, and in amounts less than $10,000 in order to avoid potential financial institution reporting requirements and other scrutiny. The checks were then cashed through check-cashers who made the checks payable to shell companies they controlled in order to conceal the true nature and purpose of the checks. The cash was then returned to members of the No-Fault Organization to fund kickbacks and for their personal use. At other times, the members and associates of the No-Fault Organization paid themselves through their own shell companies and then used the criminal proceeds to fund expensive vacations and to purchase luxury goods.

***

A chart identifying each defendant, the charges, and the maximum penalties, is below. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara thanked the FBI and the NYPD for their work in the 18-month investigation, which he noted is ongoing. Mr. Bharara also thanked the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the investigative units of the insurance companies that provided invaluable assistance with the investigation, as well as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by the office’s Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel S. Goldman, Nicholas L. McQuaid and Carolina Fornos are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason L. Cowley of the office’s Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture of assets.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

– Prepared remarks of ADIC Fedarcyk at press conference

Count	Charge	Maximum Penalty
Count one	RICO conspiracy (mail fraud and money laundering)	20 years
Count two	Conspiracy to commit health care fraud	10 years
Count three	Conspiracy to commit mail fraud	20 years
Count four	Conspiracy to commit money laundering	20 years

Defendant	Age/Residence	Alleged Role in the Scheme	Charges	Maximum Penalty
Mikhail Zemlyansky	35/Hewlett, NY	Clinic/modality controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Michael Danilovich	38/Brooklyn, NY	Clinic/modality controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Yuriy Zayonts	40/Staten Island, NY	Clinic/modality controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Mikhail Kremerman	41/Staten Island, NY	Clinic/modality controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Matthew Conroy	42/Melville, NY	Attorney	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Michael Barukhin	32/Brooklyn, NY	Clinic/modality controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Mikhail Ostrumsky	42/Brooklyn/NY	Clinic controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Boris Treysler	42/Brooklyn/NY	Clinic controller	Counts one, two, three, four	70 years
Andrey Anikeyev	37/Fort Lee, NJ	Modality controller	Counts two, three, four	50 years
Vladimir Grinberg	35/Staten Island, NY	Modality controller	Counts two, three, four	50 years
Vladislav Zaretskiy	40/Staten Island, NY	Clinic/modality controller	Counts two, three, four	50 years
Yevgeniy Shuman	33/Brooklyn, NY	Clinic manager	Counts two, three, four	50 years
Dmitry Slobodyansky	41/Brooklyn, NY	Modality controller	Counts two, three, four	50 years
Alexander Sandler	57/East Brunswick, NJ	Clinic controller	Counts two, three	30 years
Gregory Mikhalov	56/Brooklyn, NY	Modality controller	Counts two, three	30 years
Michael Morgan	33/Port Washington, NY	Modality controller	Counts two, three	30 years
Mark Danilovich	60/Brooklyn, NY	Modality controller	Counts two, three	30 years
Jeffrey Lereah	56/Suffern, NY	Modality manager	Counts two, three	30 years
Dmitry Lipis	44/Brooklyn, NY	Clinic manager	Counts two, three	30 years
Lynda Tadder	34/Brooklyn, NY	Clinic manager	Counts two, three	30 years
Maria Diglio	47/Garden City, NY	Attorney	Counts two, three	30 years
Sol Naimark	53/Flushing, NY	Attorney	Counts two, three	30 years
Sergey Gabinsky	54/Brooklyn, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Tatyana Gabinskaya	57/Brooklyn, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Joseph Vitoulis	42/Valley Stream, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Lauretta Grzegorczyk	64/Staten Island, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Eva Gateva	48/Bronx, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Zuheir Said	64/Bronx, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
David Thomas	42/Hopewell Junction/NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Billy Geris	53/Morganville, NJ	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Mark Shapiro	46/Brooklyn, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Robert Della Badia	72/South Salem, NY	Doctor	Counts two, three	30 years
Michelle Glick	33/Duluth, MN	Acupuncture practitioner	Counts two, three	30 years
Pavel Poznansky	52/Brooklyn, NY	Acupuncture practitioner	Counts two, three	30 years
Chad Greenshner	45/Flushing, NY	Chiropractic practitioner	Counts two, three	30 years
Constantine Voytenko	40/Brooklyn, NY	Chiropractic practitioner	Counts two, three	30 years

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WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. By John F. Bailey. February 28, 2012:

 

I have been fitting my mind around the stratospheric numbers involved in financing the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

 

Under the current plan for paying for the bridge,  the cost of handling the debt service on $6 Billion to build the Governor Andrew Cuomo Bridge would raise the new Tappan Zee Bridge toll to $11.50, and that is conservative.

 

WPNCR using standard municipal loan projects provided by the Municipal Capital Markets Group, notes that to handle the debt service on $6 Billion of loans at 3.11% (this week’s current bargain rate from TIVIA), the New York State Thruway Authority would have to pay $196 Million in debt service a year for 35 years in a combination of public and private financing, beginning in 2022, or earlier.

To handle this load through tolls as the governor suggests, at a minimum demands an increase to  $11.50 a trip on the New Tappan Zee by 2022, the year the TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) loan for $2 Billion would start having to be repaid, if the most favorable terms are granted New York State.

 

If financing through other sources at the same interest rates could be arranged with payback starting in 2022 in the TIFIA loan, or earlier the bulk of the financing would have to start being paid earlier.

 

Here is what the initial cost of the bridge will roughly be if the state borrows $6 Billion. There is also the possibility of borrowing from state pension funds, another option put out by the governor. These figures are derived from the Municipal Capital Markets Group  Municipal Bond Issue Calculator

 

Funds Needed: $6 Billion

Term:  35 Years (payback in a TIFIA loan begins in 2022)

Interest: 3.11 % (current TIFIA rate)

 

Net Monthly Payment (beginning in 2022): $16.3 Million

Annual Payment over 35 years:  $195,657,912

 

The Thruway Authority in their Letter of Interest to apply for a TIFIA, said the state would need $1.5 Billion over the next decade to keep the old Tappan Zee Bridge active ($150 Million a year). That would add 65 Cents per trip to the present Tappan Zee Bridge toll.

 

The Letter of Interest did not say what the regular maintenance costs of the bridge are, so lets raise the toll $1 to $6 for the 50 million trips across the bridge a year (45 million trips were made in 2010).

 

Beginning in 2022, the state will have to begin paying back the $6 Billion in loans, unless of course the non-TIFIA financing  from private sources  ($4 Billion) has to begin to be paid back earlier by the state. To simplify matters, let us assume the governor can extract favorable terms that dovetail the start-pay dates to 2022.

 

The thruway has to generate $195,657,912 in annual debt service beginning in 2022, or earlier, plus costs of maintaining the new bridge, whatever that may be , let’s say $150 Million, keeping expenses of maintenance the same (assuming they will go up due to inflation). The toll would have to go up 130%

 

The  $5 toll would have to more than double to cover the cost of the debt service $5 to $11.50 one way.

 

Now bear in mind, the $6 Billion cost is estimated right now. The designated qualified contractors may come in higher.

 

Either way from a rough numbers standpoint, I would guess that the New Tappan Zee will be the most expensive toll in the metropolitan area if not the country, rivaling the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel – five years from now – if it is finished.

 

Last week, Governor Cuomo told his cabinet the bridge will be paid for by a $2 Billion in TIFIA funds and $4 Billion in toll-financed loans. It was the first time the state had indicated that the $2 Billion and change money promised from Washington last fall was a loan, not a grant.

 

Other matters that need to be clarified very quickly and should be considered by any thinking transit executive are whether the state should use the opportunity to raise tolls to inflate the bridge cash flow now to ease commuters into the new bridge toll shock. They could raise the toll in increments to provide for the new bridge future. They could decide to raise tolls to

 

1.) Pay for the increased maintenance of the old TZB while NTZB is built.

 

2.)  To build a fund for the “down-the-road” mass transit option—bus rapid transit or rail—to add the mass transit piece to the new bridge as quickly as possible, shortly after it is scheduled to open in 2017.

 

3.) Build additional operating funds to pay down loans faster, hold tolls steady after the new bridge opens.

 

4.) Provide excess cash for unforeseen cost overruns. (an intriguing way the state could come up with found- money.)

 

5.)The MTA could grab a share of the tolls for its expansion of bus and rail that the Governor promises will be added to  the new bridge.

 

6.) Generate intriguing money for the always beleaugured state general fund to get the state over cost crunches. All they have to do is legislate it.