Port Authority retirees get to keep the lifetime perk of free tolls and parking, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge has ruled.
The Port Authority sued in Manhattan Supreme Court last year after an arbitrator ruled that about a 100 former lieutenants should receive the benefits, equivalent to a $2,000 a year bump in their pensions if used daily.
The PA’s board had voted to pull the perk for all retirees in 2011 to save about $1.5 million annually.
But the PA Police Lieutenants’ union said reneging on the free EZPasses for bridges and tunnels and parking at some airports violated their contract.
Justice Anil Singh agreed.
“As the arbitrator noted, it will take a new collective bargaining agreement to end free passes,” Singh wrote in a decision made public today.
A spokesman for the union today hailed Singh’s Friday ruling as “the right decision.” He added, “It affirmed a decision we already won.”
His retired members are still living without the privileges and may not get them back in the near future if the PA decides to appeal Friday’s lower court ruling.
A PA spokesman declined to comment.