Congresswoman Calls for Toll-Free Verrazzano Bridge This Coming Wednesday

By Idy Perl

In honor of the 500th anniversary of the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano’s arrival to New York, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) is trying to pass a bill to make the Verrazzano bridge toll-free this Wednesday. The Verrazzano bridge, which opened in 1964, was named after the explorer who arrived in the New York Bay on April 17th, 1524.

Congresswoman Malliotakis stated that it would be fitting for the MTA to make his namesake bridge toll-free on April 17th for Staten Island and Brooklyn residents; the 2 boroughs that the bridge connects.

“Verrazzano would be rolling in his grave if he knew about the cash grab this money-hungry agency was conducting in his name, which they even misspelled for decades,” the congresswoman joked, referring to the MTA’s misspelling of the explorer’s last name, giving him only one ‘z’. “He’d probably sue for defamation.”