Permanent cameras, license plate readers will be watching drivers on Goethals Bridge
Big Brother is watching you … when you drive to Staten Island.
The Port Authority has installed permanent license plate readers on the Goethals Bridge, which connects the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to the Big Apple’s southernmost borough.
The agency is putting two dozen more plate readers on the Bayonne Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing, which officials say will help fight crime, nail toll evaders and let cops in both states track cars and trucks as they cross over the interstate bridges, according to an agency press release.
Authorities say the readers — which will cost the agency about $10 million — will also help find stolen cars or track down vehicles that might be carrying missing people, such as kids or the elderly.
“License plate readers are the DNA of the highway,” said Greg Ehrie, the Port Authority’s chief security officer, according to silive.com. “It allows us to know what’s going on.”
And apparently, there’s a lot going on.
Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said his office saw a 110% increase in stolen cars throughout the borough in 2022 — and officials knew they had to do something.
“Long overdue and much needed, this vital public safety technology and infrastructure allows for seamless information sharing with law enforcement, allowing for quicker apprehensions of car thieves and more successful prosecutions in the courtroom,” he said in a statement.
“While there are a multitude of factors for Staten Island being the only borough to see a decrease in car thefts in 2023 and this year’s near 30 percent decrease in stolen vehicles so far, there’s no doubt that the arrival of license plate readers on our New Jersey bridge crossings have helped play a major role in deterring crime, holding both car thieves and toll violators accountable, and returning stolen vehicles back to their rightful owners.”
By the time the Port Authority is done, there will be a total of 40 readers posted on the agency’s Staten Island crossings — and that includes 24 new cameras on the Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing.
The job should be finished by the end of 2026, according to the release.
