Goldfeder Demands Action from Con Ed, MTA Following Marine Parkway Bridge Fiasco

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder

Assemblyman calls for accountability from MTA, Con Edison over power outage leaving drivers stranded for hours

December 3, 2014

Roxbury, Queens - Following a power outage that closed down the Marine Parkway Bridge for hours and stranded tens of thousands of commuters during rush hour, Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D - Breezy Point) called on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Con Edison to immediately commence a full investigation and make necessary repairs to infrastructure on the vital roadway linking the Rockaway Peninsula to Brooklyn and the rest of the city.

"Rockaway families, including my own, are geographically isolated with very limited options to access our homes and community," said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder.  "The closure of the Marine Parkway Bridge, even for a short time, can put our families at risk and is absolutely unacceptable. The MTA and Con Edison need to perform an immediate investigation into this situation and make repairs to ensure that this does not happen again."

At approximately 12:00 p.m. last Monday, residents first reported closures on the Marine Parkway Bridge to the Assemblyman's office. Damage to one of two Con Edison-maintained feeder cables supplying electrical power to the bridge caused the outage, according to the MTA. As a result, the electrical drawbridge, which is regularly raised to provide larger sea vessels access to and from Jamaica Bay, was left stuck in the elevated position. The outage lasted into the evening rush hour, stranding tens of thousands of motorists in long lines of traffic stretching on both sides of the bridge, as well as onto the nearby Belt Parkway. According to reports, traffic across the bridge did not resume until after 6:00 pm that evening, at least 6 hours after the outage began.

In his letters to Con Edison and the MTA, Assemblyman Goldfeder called on both to immediately perform inspections of the bridge's electrical infrastructure and to make all necessary repairs. The Assemblyman emphasized the concerns of local residents and civic leaders about the dangers posed by malfunctions during emergency evacuations. 

"The Marine Parkway Bridge is the main point of exit to the mainland for the entire west end of the Rockaway peninsula," said Denise Neibel, President of the Breezy Point Cooperative. "This incident caught so many of us off guard and left our community without a good alternate route. If this happened during an emergency, thousands of families could have been endangered."

"What happened last week at the Marine Parkway Bridge was disgraceful," said Hank Iori, President of the Belle Harbor Property Owners Association. "The city needs to ensure that the electrical infrastructure is in place and functioning to power the bridge at all times."

The Marine Parkway Bridge, which links the west end of the Rockaway Peninsula to Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, is one of only three access points to the Rockaways, together with the Cross Bay Bridge and the Nassau Expressway. In 2012, the bridge served as the primary evacuation route for tens of thousands of families in the days leading up to Superstorm Sandy. According to the MTA, the bridge carries 23,000 vehicles daily, with traffic doubling during the busy summer months.

"The MTA and public utilities have a responsibility to southern Queens and Rockaway families to ensure our public infrastructure will not fail us in an emergency," concluded Goldfeder. "I demand a full investigation and thorough report detailing the incident and expect that the issues will be resolved and more importantly that contingency plans are put in place so our families have the peace of mind they deserve."