Two days before the MTA Board approved the controversial congestion pricing plan for Manhattan on Wednesday, the agency cracked down on persistent toll violators at the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels seized 19 vehicles registered to persistent scofflaws on Monday and issued 81 summonses and confiscated two fraudulent incense plates. The MTA noted that the scofflaws accounted for approximately $483,000 in combined unpaid tolls and fees. One of the top persistent toll violators from the targeted enforcement owed nearly $76,000 in tolls and fees.
“MTA Bridges and Tunnels has a very simple message — don’t cover your license plate or use fake plates. Your car may also be seized and you could be arrested,” MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan said. “These offenders are stealing money from the public’s pockets when they illegally use our bridges and tunnels.”
The operation was carried out by the ghost car task force which includes MTA police, NYPD, the Port Authority Police Department, New York State Troopers and the NYC Sheriff’s Office. Another joint operation took place on Thursday, Mar. 21 at the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. That same day, the task force arrested 15 motorists at the Whitestone Bridge and issued 192 summonses and seized 42 vehicles.