Nassau County Bridge Authority violated the law. Find out how here

Atlantic Beach Bridge commuters have asked the Nassau County Bridge Authority to be more transparent and now, the state’s Authorities Budget Office is asking the same.

Valley Stream resident Amil Virani filed a complaint on Nov. 15 after he noticed missing information on the bridge authority’s website. The complaint claimed that the authority violated the state’s Open Meetings Law by not posting meeting dates, agendas and minutes to the NCBA website. The law also allows the public to listen and watch any meeting decision-making processes.

Established in 1945 to operate and maintain one bridge, the Atlantic Beach Bridge, the authority comprises a five-member Board of Commissioners.

Based on a review between Jan. 4 and 10, the budget office found that the authority is not following the Open Meetings Law and ABO Website Guidance.

“The ABO found the Authority is not posting meeting agendas, meeting schedules, or meeting minutes for all board and committee meetings,” the state authorities budget office wrote in a news release. “In addition, the review found the Authority is not posting information about how to submit a FOIL request or an email address for the public to send FOIL requests.”

Bridge authority officials did not respond to a request for comment.

“I had heard from people at the bridge, like the chairman of the bridge board and the executive director, that Vincent Grasso was out,” Virani said. “But I wanted to see it in writing, so I go on the website and I see nothing. The website was terrible and I’ve been involved in going to local government meetings and school board meetings and this is information you find on the website such as meetings, meeting documents and agendas and they were like missing.”

Raymond Webb succeeded Grasso.

Virani attended a public meeting one month after filing the complaint on Dec. 15. At that meeting, he, as well as other attendees, were jammed into the authority’s office snack room seeking answers on why the bridge authority  was raising tolls for the first time since 2007.

Board members held a private meeting behind closed doors on the second floor while commuters watched through a television screen muted from what was being discussed. Virani has not attended any meetings since.

“The whole thing sounds very suspect to me,” said Long Beach resident Robert Sanchez, an Uber driver who previously told the Herald he avoids driving through the bridge due to the toll increase.

According to the ABO’s website, the goal is to make public authorities accountable and transparent. Sanchez said that is not happening with the bridge authority.

“They are supposed to be transparent so they have no choice,” he said. “They’re supposed to hold public hearings and they’re supposed to get community input like any kind of authority.”

Although bridge users have consistently asked why a toll increase was needed, Virani said that it’s more than the toll increase.

“It’s not about money. It’s about transparency,” he said. “We were sitting in that room and we had to watch their business on Zoom and what they were doing was muted. That was a violation of the Open Meetings Law.”

“The chairman is a nice person,” Virani said about Samuel Nahmias. “I’ve met him a couple of times, but he has a lot of work cut out for him. I used to have a decal and I’m upset about the toll increases, but he and the board also is going to have to fix the lack of transparency.”

The full report can be viewed at Abo.Ny.gov.