Wantagh exec says MTA bridge toll will hurt businesses

Chris Brown, 47, who owns a Wantagh-based medical supply company, says the MTA bridge toll increase will hurt his business - and customers. Brown, president of the Wantagh Chamber of Commerce, runs Mid-Island Medical Supply, delivering home health care supplies across Long Island and New York City with two panel trucks.

While the toll hike will have a limited impact on his own trucks - about 5 percent of his deliveries are in the city - Brown said it will boost the freight charges he pays for the five to eight truck deliveries he receives each day from suppliers in New Jersey and Westchester.

E-ZPass users face toll increases of about 5 percent.

"It's going to affect every business on Long Island," he said. "To me, it's an added tax. When you have freight deliveries, when you have trucks coming in, they're going to pass this on to the user. None of my staff use the MTA but we're getting stuck with tax as well."

Brown said he would have to pass the additional cost on to his customers.

"It's getting much harder to run a business on Long Island," he said.