Atlantic Beach Bridge users want proof of financial loss

Prove to us that you really need to raise the rates.”

Barry Ringelheim, Atlantic Beach resident

Nassau County Bridge Authority finances

2019: Financial statements indicated an operating loss of $766,691.

2020: Operating loss of $2,215,778.

2021: Operating loss of $1,008,104.

Source: NCBA financial statements and Independent Auditors’ Report 2019-21

New Year’s Day brought new tolls on the Atlantic Beach Bridge after their approval in December by the Nassau County Bridge Authority. Questions remain about what prompted the decision.

“Prove to us that you really need to raise the rates,” said Atlantic Beach resident Barry Ringelheim, referring to authority Chairman Samuel Nahmias. Ringelheim added, “He has not shown any grounds for the need to raise the rates.”

Last month, the bridge authority announced that it would raise the tolls for the bridge from $2 to $3 for passenger vehicles, and, to $4 for vehicles not registered in Nassau County — the first increases since 2007.

The bridge authority expects to implement the E-ZPass system later this year.

In a Dec. 5 news release, Nahmias stated that the authority lost nearly $1 million in each of the past three years. Because it has no state or federal funding and all of its revenue is generated by tolls, the increases are intended to keep the authority viable, Nahmias said.

According to a person who is familiar with the finances of the bridge, stated the authority has had a surplus of over $5 million over the past three years. “It is well over $5 million,” the person said.

Nahmias told the Herald that the claim was incorrect. “You have to factor in the reserves,” he said. “Any profits that the authority makes has to be placed in a reserves for future and current maintenance.”

In 2018, a periodic review by Moody’s Investors Service raised the authority’s revenue bond rating from A3 to A2. The report stated that the increase was due to the authority’s strong fiscal management.

In last month’s news release, Nahmias said the condition of the bridge was rated a 5 by Hardesty & Hanover on a scale of 1 to 7, from poor to excellent. “Make no mistake, this is because we were setup as a separate authority from the start,” Nahmias said, “in order to maintain our own bridge.”

The person familiar with the bridge’s finances said that the numerical rating of its condition was based on upgrades that have been made to the structure over the past 10 years. The machinery that raises and lowers the drawbridge and the steel grid decking were replaced for the first time in the bridge’s 70-year history, he said.

“Each (component) has an estimated life of 30 years,” the person said. “That’s why the rating is so high. Bridges with a 7 are bridges that were literally just built and haven’t had a car go over them. A 5 is outstanding.”

The toll increases are intended to further upgrade the bridge with $6 million budgeted for cleaning and painting, $5 million to install E-ZPass and $5 million for bulkhead replacement.

One bridge user, Katie Grogan, of Long Beach, posted her support for the implementation of E-ZPass system and her dismay at the toll increases on a Long Beach community Facebook page. “Love the E-ZPass,” she wrote “But whoa on the increases!!!”

The bridge has undergone a technological makeover in recent years. It began in October 2020, when the authority began testing license plate reader technology, so motorists no longer had to stop and pay a cash toll.

The E-ZPass system is expected to be installed in mid-2023. The Atlantic Beach Bridge is the only remaining span in the New York City region that does not accept E-ZPass.

“We re-reviewed the process, the costs, and it had become more feasible,” Nahmias said of the installation of E-ZPass. “Our understanding was that it was not feasible in the past, and it has now become more feasible.”

Have an opinion on Nassau County Bridge Authority issues? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.