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♫ Iiiiiiiiiiiii, ♥ New Yorrrrrrrrk!♫
Jan. 6th, 2011 11:13 amIt's that renewin' time of year here. For all that driving I do, I have an EZ-Pass, which your state may refer to as a FastLane pass, or a SpeedPass, or a GasPass for all I know. For years, though, even before this invention of transpondery, I've had membership in a sekrit club, known as the Thruway Annual Permit Plan. For under 100 bucks a year, I get my first 30 miles on the 90 for free if it's within the "ticketed portion" of the road. The freebies do not include the stop-and-pay barriers downstate, the Tappan Zee Bridge (recently renamed, as most things here eventually are, for a former governor- look for the Elliot Spitzer Memorial Mens Room inside the Junius Ponds Service Area!), any non-Thruway Authority roads or bridges, nor the Grand Island Bridges<<==this will be important later
This thing likely saves me hundreds of dollars a year. Naturally, therefore, they make it difficult to find out about and almost as hard to renew. Unlike my regular cheaper tolls, which magically get whisked out of my bank account, the annual permit has to be renewed either by mail to Staten Island or in person. Originally, there was a convenient storefront right off Sheridan Drive. Then, they decided that free parking was no fun, so they closed that one and made you go to a little office inside Carl Paladino's headquarters building in downtown B-lo. State Democrats closed that one, as well (can't imagine why;), but instead of moving it anywhere in the glut of non-Paladino office space downtown, or to a convenient suburb, the only EZ-Pass center within 150 miles of here is located, wait for it,....
on Grand Island.
Now the Island, as it's known (not to be confused with The Oiland, where my people come from), is a true example of the geographic form. It's in the middle of the Niagara River, reachable only by the North and South Grand Island Bridges, where Cuomo Number Two now stands happily at each end, hat in hand, and takes money from you in order to get to his office where you need to renew your permit.
Ah, New York. State flower: the rose. State animal: the beaver. State motto: PAY TOLL.
This thing likely saves me hundreds of dollars a year. Naturally, therefore, they make it difficult to find out about and almost as hard to renew. Unlike my regular cheaper tolls, which magically get whisked out of my bank account, the annual permit has to be renewed either by mail to Staten Island or in person. Originally, there was a convenient storefront right off Sheridan Drive. Then, they decided that free parking was no fun, so they closed that one and made you go to a little office inside Carl Paladino's headquarters building in downtown B-lo. State Democrats closed that one, as well (can't imagine why;), but instead of moving it anywhere in the glut of non-Paladino office space downtown, or to a convenient suburb, the only EZ-Pass center within 150 miles of here is located, wait for it,....
on Grand Island.
Now the Island, as it's known (not to be confused with The Oiland, where my people come from), is a true example of the geographic form. It's in the middle of the Niagara River, reachable only by the North and South Grand Island Bridges, where Cuomo Number Two now stands happily at each end, hat in hand, and takes money from you in order to get to his office where you need to renew your permit.
Ah, New York. State flower: the rose. State animal: the beaver. State motto: PAY TOLL.