NOBODY SPARED

New York City Marathon Faces $750K Bill for Lost Toll Fees

Race organizers may have to cut the number of runners in the event if they don’t pay up.

Runners in the New York City marathon in November may have some extra fees this fall. That’s because the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is demanding that the New York Road Runners, which organizes the annual event, cough up $750,000 to make up for the toll revenue it loses by closing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island for runners, The New York Times reported. The MTA has quietly asked for the money for years, the Times reported, but marathon organizers have ignored the bill. Now, with the MTA hurting for cash amid a post-pandemic dip in daily commuters, it is threatening to pull permission for the marathon to take over both decks of the country’s largest suspension bridge on race day, something the marathon has done since 1988. If a toll payment isn’t made, the Times reports the marathon may have to significantly cut its number of runners down from the 50,000 who participated last year—or spread out start times, which could mean some participants wouldn’t finish running until dark.