GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. -- Video of the Grand Island town supervisor reading an open letter to the governor is approaching 10,000 views in 48 hours, and one of those views was by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Supervisor Nate McMurray says someone from Cuomo's office called him Monday morning to see what they can do about the toll booths leading on and off the island.
McMurray says despite the environmental and economic strain, Grand Island doesn't see a penny of the $20 million in revenue created for the New York State Thruway Authority.
"Ideally, tolls would go away, but if they're not going away, then the money that's generated here, should stay here,” said McMurray.
State Sen. Chris Jacobs recently re-introduced a bill that would return 10 percent of that money to the communities most impacted by those tolls. If it passes, Grand Island will get about $1 million and Niagara Falls and the town of Tonawanda would get $500,000 each.