The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in New York City wants to charge runners for crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
The transit authority is seeking $750,000 from the New York City Marathon organizers, aiming to compensate for toll revenue lost during the event.
Should New York Road Runners refuse to pay, the agency is issuing threats to limit access to the bridge, which could reduce the number of runners who can compete in the popular event every November.
During negotiations, the MTA said runners who start the marathon on Staten Island would only be allowed to use the darker lower deck of the bridge for the 26.2-mile race if organizers didn't fail to comply, according to the New York Post.
For the past 36 years, the marathon has used both decks of the Verrazzano Bridge, and it's expected to welcome 50,000 entrants this year.
"New Yorkers love Marathon Sunday, but taxpayers cannot be expected to subsidize a wealthy non-government organization like the New York Road Runners to the tune of $750,000," the president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, Catherine Sheridan, said in a statement.
"The MTA is prepared to continue working toward a final agreement with the NYRR, provided it leads, over time, to full reimbursement for the lost revenue, she wrote.
The New York Road Runners are not giving in to the high demands, while MTA is expecting Gov. Kathy Hochul to step in.
CEO Rob Simmelkjaer asked Hochul in a letter to force the MTA to "negotiate in good faith," arguing the non-profit has already agreed to boost its payments to the MTA to cover the bridge's closure to $200,000 for this year's race.
MTA has also demanded that Bike New York, which uses the bridge's bottom level during its annual Five Boro Bike Tour every May, start paying as well.
The news follows MTA's recent announcement that the board approved a contentious plan that will charge drivers a $15 toll to enter Midtown Manhattan below 60th Street.
