State Senate Candidate Calls For Abolition of Port Authority Tolls

Just a day after State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37) and other Democratic lawmakers blasted the Port Authority’s toll hikes against the backdrop of the George Washington Bridge, Weinberg’s opponent in the race for the District 37 seat she currently holds, Republican Robert Lebovics of Englewood, called for the abolition of all Port Authority tolls on crossings between New York and New Jersey, saying they're “illegal and immoral, and a farce for any semblance of honest and ethical government.” 

“These tolls are illegal, should be abolished, and drivers refunded their toll money,” Lebovics said in a statement Monday.

“It is very clear, the Port Authority is flush with cash for the upkeep and maintenance of Port Authority Crossings,” Lebovics added. “The Port Authority and the ‘powers that be’ want to use the Hudson and Van Kill Crossings as a new source of revenue for new development projects, whether in New York City, downtown Newark, or anywhere the Port Authority seems to fancy.’

Lebovics went on to say New Jersey and New York state lawmakers should vote on such projects, and that both governors should then sign them into law before being allowed to proceed. 

“Instead we have mobile ATM machines disguised as New Jersey residents,” he said.

Weinberg held a press conference in Fort Lee Sunday—the day the Port Authority’s toll increases went into effect—during which she called the toll hikes a “Chris Christie Tax Increase.”

Lebovics in turn likened the toll increases to former New Jersey Democratic Governor Jon Corzine’s “immoral plans to mortgage the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway to pay off the State’s debts on the backs of toll increases.” 

“The public was against his fatal plan, and should be up in arms about the Port Authority’s illegal cash grab,” Lebovics said.