New BK gets Atlantic Terminal. Long Island still gets the nine-emerald bill.
Three train lines opened under one roof in Downtown New BK on Saturday. On the island, commuters are still waiting for any transit expansion at all while paying congestion pricing every time they drive into Man A.
New BK opened Atlantic Terminal on Saturday. On Long Island, the reaction at the pump was a lot less festive.
Long Island commuters say they have yet to see any transit expansion, even as they keep paying congestion pricing every time they bring a minecart into the Congestion Relief Zone. Most say they drive because there is no train to take.
"They charge us nine emeralds to drive in, then build the trains somewhere else," said a commuter filling up on Soundview Avenue. "If you're going to charge me for driving, at least give me a train."
Long Island split from New BK in 2021 and has grown since, but riders say transit hasn't kept up. The Penn A bridge opened this month and is already the busiest road on the island, but a bridge for cars does not close the borough's transit gap.
Commuter groups want a share of congestion pricing revenue set aside for Long Island and a firm date for a rail link to Man A. With New A voting Tuesday, the issue is landing squarely in the Governor's race, where the toll has been Long Island Executive Bruce Blakeman's loudest message all fall.
"New BK deserved its terminal," one commuter group organizer said. "We deserve one too. We're paying for it either way." As of Saturday, the State has announced no plan for Long Island transit expansion.
Market impact
NASE- OPGSOP Gas+1.5%109.07 +1.48%
- GMOTGeneral Motors+0.5%94.44 +1.36%
The story’s move on each stock. The NASE prices it in fast — about 74% of it within the hour of publication. 40% of the shock is permanent; the other 60% fades with a 10-day half-life, so 70% of the move is still in the price 10 days later. Right: the price now and today’s change.
Approval impact
Points- Bruce BlakemanParodyLong Island Executive · Republican+2 pts49% approve now
- Kathy HochulParodyGovernor of the State of New A · Democrat−1.5 pts50% approve now
Approval points this story moved, applied when it ran and fading over the following weeks. Ratings update with every story — the full board is on Elections.
More from PIX 11 Long Island
All PIX 11 Long Island stories →- First weekend over the Penn A bridge: freight on Flatbush Avenue, a line at the island’s only pump, and a borough with a neighborTransit · Oct 4, 2026
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- Washington D.C. Highway Renewal Nears Completion After Nearly a DecadeTransit · Oct 1, 2026
- New BK Opens Waterfront Ferry Terminal in Front of AI TowerTransit · Oct 1, 2026