


Two southern Brooklyn politicians demanded Friday that the MTA better manage the traffic that floods their neighborhoods when high winds shut down the upper span of the Verrazzano Bridge.
Senator Andrew Gounardes and City Councilman Justin Brannan, both Democrats, issued the call after cars and trucks swamped the streets of Bay Ridge during Tuesday’s monster storm, which forced the closure.
“There is just no plan in place when that bridge gets closed. We believe that’s irresponsible to close the bridge down without a clear contingency plan,” Brannan said at a press conference.
“You try to create a safe situation by not allowing trucks on the bridge when there is high winds, which we want,” he added. “But, in turn, you are creating a dangerous situation by creating gridlock traffic.”
Stats for how often high winds and poor weather force the closure of the bridge or the agency to ban trucks and other large vehicles were not immediately available.
The double-decker is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world and its decks are more than 200 feet above the water, making cars and trucks crossing it susceptible to strong winds howling through the narrows.
The MTA was criticized in 2020 for failing to close the bridge quickly enough as Tropical Storm Isaias approached, leading to five trailer trucks flipping over on the span.
An MTA spokeswoman said that managing traffic on city streets was the responsibility of the city’s Police Department and Department of Transportation and added the transit agency notifies both before the bridge is closed or traffic is restricted.
DOT referred questions to the NYPD, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.