At a Mayor's town meeting last week on Staten Island, Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari urged Islanders to come to Tuesday's hearing and oppose the bridge construction plan. In today's Staten Island Advance, Molinari said he doesn't see much for Staten Island in the proposed bridge except more traffic and air pollution. Molinari said that while the Port Authority has agreed to build the new bridge with the capability to carry a railway, "it is hardly enough." He wants "serious mass transportation relief" for Staten Island. Molinari also gave thumbs down to the Port Authority's need to raise tolls to pay for the new span. Staten Island City Council members who met with Mayor Giuliani last week asked for his help in killing the bridge project.

Last night, concerned citizens, Staten Island Citizens for Clean Air and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign held a discussion of the bridge project and the Port Authority's flawed draft environmental impact statement in preparation for the hearings. A similar meeting will be held in Elizabeth Monday, at St. John's Church, 7:30pm. Readers who plan to testify at next week's hearings can obtain a critical technical analysis of the Port Authority's draft environmental impact statement from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. See MTR 35 for the Campaign's initial response. Call 212-777-8181.