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Traffic from the ongoing restoration of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has caused intense gridlock on local streets around the span — and at least one businessman says he’s losing a fortune because of it.

“I am losing tens of thousands of dollars a year from late deliveries, gas costs, and increased commute times,” said Greg Ahl, owner of a technology services and communications company. “It’s incredibly frustrating because it makes it a lot tougher for small businesses to survive.”

Ahl was one of dozens of people who flocked to a town hall-style meeting on Tuesday night, which state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge) hosted for the very purpose of hearing community frustration about the six-month old project.

He heard plenty.

“It’s just a terrible situation and the traffic is a real danger,” said homeowner Elaine O’Rourke, who has lived on Battery Place for over 25 years and never seen it “this bad.”

“We can’t even do normal things anymore, like order food to be delivered or get medicines to the house,” she added. “There is just no escape from the traffic most of the time and I feel that it is taking away our quality of life”

Golden shared his frustration with the pace and scope of the $58-million project.

“I was speaking with a lawyer from Bay Ridge recently and he said it took him 37 minutes to go from 91st to 92nd on a local avenue,” Golden said. “To go one block, that’s just a terrible situation. That’s a serious impact, and it’s not fair to the community, we need to work to get something done.”

Possible interim solutions suggested by Golden include changing bridge work hours to off-peak travel times, opening a westbound high occupancy vehicle lane on the Staten Island expressway, and increasing the number of traffic agents on the ground to reduce major backups at crucial intersections.

Joe Ferrara, the project’s general manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, did not offer any specific plans for relief, but said the agency is studying the problem and working with consultants to get it solved.

Ferrera took potshots from the crowd for more than an hour, but the closest he came to offering any hope for relief was when he mentioned that $6 million had been added to the project as an incentive to speed it up so that it will be completed by September, a few months early.

Those months of relief did little to assuage local anger. To get the issue more political visibility, several politicians have sued the MTA to force it to provide some relief.

The suit is pending, but this week, State Supreme Court Judge Phil Minardo asked all parties to return to court on Dec. 18 to discuss possible traffic relief measures.

©2007 Community Newspaper Group