Silver & Gantt Call On Thruway Authority Board To Step Down

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Transportation Committee Chair David Gantt (D-Rochester) today called on the members of the board of directors of the New York State Thruway Authority to step down.

Silver and Gantt last week said that Thruway toll hikes scheduled to go into effect as early as 2008 should not be considered until an audit by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, currently underway, can determine if the increased revenue is actually necessary.

"The members of the Thruway Authority's board of directors are all Pataki-era appointees. The fact that they voted to increase tolls early next year without calling for any belt-tightening at the agency itself is an indication of their lack of concern for the people of our state," Silver said. "Governor Spitzer should have the chance to shape the policies of the Authority, and the way he can do that is by making his own appointments to the board."

Silver noted that irregularities in the awarding of a Canal Corporation contract for canal shoreline development in 2003 exemplified the failures of the board of directors. (The Canal Corporation is an arm of the Thruway Authority.) The Comptroller's Office rescinded approval of the contract and the development did not go forward.

"It is time to stop punishing New York's working families and businesses, and that means no toll increase on the Thruway," said Gantt. "Thruway Authority board members should step down so that Governor Spitzer can name new members who will focus on innovative ways to control costs and deliver services."

A ten percent toll hike was approved by the Thruway Authority Board of Directors in 2005, and is scheduled to take effect in January.

The Assembly will hold hearings on the planned toll increase and other aspects of Thruway operations on December 14 in Albany, December 17 in Syracuse and December 19 in Rochester. A hearing on the issue was held in Buffalo yesterday.