Bridge and Tunnel (often abbreviated B&T or BNT) is a term – often used pejoratively – to describe people who live in communities surrounding the island of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and commute to it for work or entertainment. It refers to the fact that vehicular travel to the island of Manhattan requires passing over a bridge or through a tunnel. Some use it to describe residents of the other four

boroughs of New York City New York City is composed of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county of New York (state), New York Stat ...

–

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

– but it typically refers to those who travel into the city from outside the area served by the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

(thus by car), including the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

Etymology

Though the term originates from the

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, is an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates seven toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. In terms of traf ...

, it has come to encompass all people who commute from outside of New York City proper, including

, and the

. The ''

Oxford Dictionaries Oxford dictionary may refer to any dictionary published by Oxford University Press, particularly: Historical dictionaries * ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') * ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', abridgement of the ''OED'' Single-volume d ...

'' explains that a bridge-and-tunnel person is one who lives in the suburbs and is perceived as unsophisticated. However, this is sometimes also used as allusion to New York City's vast transportation system.

Origin

The earliest known instance of this phrase in print is the December 13, 1977, edition of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'':

Comparisons

"Bridge and tunnel" was later adopted in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in reference to party-goers who live outside San Francisco, as a reference to this original usage. Residents of the

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

and South Bay take commuter trains (

Caltrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as far ...

BART Bart is a masculine given name, usually a diminutive of Bartholomew, sometimes of Barton, Bartolomeo, etc. Bart is a Dutch and Ashkenazi Jewish surname, and derives from the name ''Bartholomäus'', a German form of the biblical name ''Barthol ...

, each of which has several tunnels) and freeways (

I-280 Interstate 280 may refer to multiple highways, all of which are or were related to Interstate 80: * Interstate 280 (California), a north–south freeway running from San Jose to San Francisco * Interstate 280 (Iowa–Illinois), part of the beltway ...

and

US 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

, which do not) to visit city hot-spots but do not actually live in San Francisco. Residents from the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...

typically drive or take a bus across the Bay Bridge (and

Yerba Buena Tunnel The Yerba Buena Tunnel, also known as the Yerba Buena Island Tunnel, is a highway tunnel in San Francisco, California. It is the part of San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge complex that crosses Yerba Buena Island. The Yerba Buena Tunnel carries t ...

) to reach San Francisco, or take BART through the

Transbay Tube The Transbay Tube is an underwater rail tunnel that carries Bay Area Rapid Transit's four transbay lines under San Francisco Bay between the cities of San Francisco and Oakland in California. The tube is long, and attaches to twin bored tunnels ...

. The commute into San Francisco from

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

also involves a bridge (the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by th ...

) and the Robin Williams Tunnel. In

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, the term " 909er" (a reference to

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

909) has come to have a similar, derogatory meaning for people coming from areas inland of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, and

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, which historically had the 909 area code. In

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...

, the term " 905er" (a reference to

Area Code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

905) has come to have a similar meaning for the suburb area surrounding Toronto-proper, including areas such as York Region, Pickering, and Oshawa.

In popular culture

Book publishing

*Bridge & Tunnel Books is a literary press in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania. * ''New York Times'' reporters

Jodi Kantor Jodi Kantor (born April 21, 1975) is an American journalist. She is a ''New York Times'' correspondent whose work has covered the workplace, technology, and gender. She has been the paper's Arts & Leisure editor and covered two presidential campa ...

and

Megan Twohey Megan Twohey () is an American journalist with ''The New York Times''. She has written investigative reports for Reuters, the ''Chicago Tribune,'' and the '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel''. Twohey's investigative reports have exposed exploitativ ...

described Irwin Reiter, vice president for accounting and financial reporting at the

Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

, as having a "'bridge-and-tunnel' cadence to his speech."

Film

*In "

Boiler Room (film) ''Boiler Room'' is a 2000 American crime drama film written and directed by Ben Younger and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Ben Affleck, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Tom Everett Scott, Ron Rifkin, and Jamie Kennedy. The film was conceive ...

" (2000) reference is made to a group, while celebrating Seth's Series 7 in New York, about trying to impress the "bridge and tunnel crowd." *The movie " Loser" (2000) makes a reference to bridge and tunnel girls when one of Jason Biggs's character's ex-roommates calls his girlfriend by that term. *In ''

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist ''Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and Davi ...

'' (2008), Norah makes a reference to Nick's being "bridge and tunnel", to which Caroline replies, "If he's bridge and tunnel, what does that make us?" *In ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second insta ...

'' (2008), the Joker tricks Gotham into escaping via ferry by having his hostage declare on the news that "...the bridge and tunnel crowd are sure in for a surprise." *In '' Greenberg'' (2010), Roger Greenberg, who resides in New York City, doesn't want to go to a bar in Los Angeles on a Friday night because it's "probably full of bridge and tunnel people. Or whatever the L.A. version of bridge and tunnel is." *In ''

Paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...

'' (2013), Emma makes a reference to Adam's being "bridge and tunnel", after her attempt to lose Adam after their one night stand. * '' Bridge and Tunnel'' (2014) is a feature film written and directed by

Jason Michael Brescia Jason Michael Brescia (born June 19, 1986) is an American writer-director from Malverne, New York. Early life Brescia grew up in Valley Stream, New York but his family moved to nearby Malverne, New York when he was a teenager. Brescia attend ...

, set on Long Island.

Gaming

* The term was used in the game to describe the crowd of the Bahama Mamas nightclub in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Music

*Bridge and Tunnel are a New York City-based punk/post-hardcore band, with a number of releases on the

No Idea Records No Idea Records is an American independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which focuses on punk rock and its sub-styles and produces both vinyl records and compact discs. The label also organizes The Fest, an independently operated ...

label. *

The Honorary Title The Honorary Title was an American alternative rock, alternative indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, United States. The band released their first self-titled Extended play, EP "The Honorary Title" in 2003 and then their fi ...

, a New York City-based rock band, released a song called "Bridge and Tunnel" as a single from their 2004 album ''Anything Else but the Truth''. *

Holy Ghost! Holy Ghost! is an American synthpop duo from Brooklyn, New York City. Founded in 2007, the duo consists of Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel. History Millhiser and Frankel both grew up on the Upper West Side of New York City and attended Trevor D ...

, a Brooklyn synthpop duo, have a song called "Bridge and Tunnel" on their 2013 album ''Dynamics''. *

Sun Kil Moon Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist M ...

Mark Kozelek Mark Edward Kozelek (born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and occasional actor. He is known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon and founding member of ...

refers to fans of the band The War on Drugs as being bridge and tunnel people in a 2014 rhetoric song surrounding an on-stage festival incident between the two bands, titled "War on Drugs: Suck My Cock." *The 2018 single

Four Out of Five "Four Out of Five" is a song by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, ''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' (2018), on 13 May 2018, with an accompanying music video. Composition ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...

also features the term in the song's lyrics: "Mr. Bridge and Tunnel on the Starlight Express".

Television

*In the first season of the television comedy ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

,''

Liz Lemon Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American television series ''30 Rock''. She created and writes for the fictional comedy-sketch show ''The Girlie Show'' and later ''TGS with Tracy Jordan''. She is po ...

's boyfriend is referred to as being "a little bridge and tunnel." *In the episode "The War at Home" of '' Law and Order: Criminal Intent'', Detective Goren refers to two types that attend the particular night club that the victim did as "Bridge and Tunnel" and Military. *In the pilot episode ("Flowers for Your Grave") of the television show ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'', Rick Castle tells Beckett that she's "not bridge and tunnel ecause there isno trace of the boroughs when you talk." *'' Bridge and Tunnel'' is the name of an episode of Marvel's Agent Carter television series. *In the episode " D-Girl" of

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

, an obnoxious patron at a Manhattan bar calls

Christopher Moltisanti Christopher Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series ''The Sopranos''. He is Tony Soprano's protégé and a member of the DiMeo crime family, rising from associate to captain over the course of th ...

a "bridge and tunnel boy." *In the episode "Kimmy Kidnaps Gretchen!" of

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' is an American streaming television sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, starring Ellie Kemper in the title role. It premiered on March 6, 2015, on Netflix and ran for four seasons, ending on January 25, 20 ...

Titus Andromedon calls Mikey a "bridge and tunnel tadpole". *In the episode "Victoria" of

Human Target The Human Target is the name of two fictional character (arts), characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first is Fred Venable, while the second is private investigator and bodyguard Christopher Chance who assumes the identit ...

Chrisopher Chance tells Princess Victoria "I believe the term is: Bridge and Tunnel" *In the episode "The Anniversary" of

Red Oaks The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

Skye tells David that an art friend of hers said he was "bridge and tunnel". *In the episode "Citizen Ship" Of

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web series ...

Iliana and Abbi make fun of "bridge and tunnel bros". *In the episode "Mother of the Year" of

Pose (TV series) ''Pose'' (stylized as ''POSE'') is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about New York City's ballroom culture, an LGBT culture in New York City, LGBTQ subculture in the African-American and Hispanic and Latino Americ ...

Elektra refers to customers at Indochine as the "bridge and tunnel crowd". *In the episode "Haven is for Real" of

Future Man (TV series) ''Future Man'' is an American comedy streaming television series created by Howard Overman, Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir that premiered on November 14, 2017 on Hulu. The series follows an underachieving janitor who is called upon to save the wor ...

Wolf says to Tiger about Haven "Tiger, this place is bridge and tunnel. Let's bounce." *In the episode

Father and the Bride "Father and the Bride" is the 12th episode of season 5 on the show, ''Gossip Girl''. The episode was directed by Amy Heckerling and written by Peter Elkoff. It was aired on January 23, 2012 on the CW. Similar to previous names in the TV series, ...

Gossip Girl (TV series) ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Descri ...

tells Beatrice "I have never been so happy to be surrounded by bridge-and-tunnel types" while partying at Panchito's for her bachelorette party. * In the opening episode of season 4 of You, the main character Joe makes reference to the ‘bridge & tunnel crowd’ via his internal monologue whilst walking through London. *

Bridge and Tunnel (TV series) ''Bridge and Tunnel'' is a 2021 American comedy drama television series written, directed and produced by Edward Burns for Epix. The first season consists of 6 episodes and premiered on January 24, 2021. In July 2021, the series was renewed for ...

is a 2021 American comedy drama television series written, directed and produced by

Edward Burns Edward Fitzgerald Burns (born January 29, 1968) is an American actor, producer, writer, and director best known for appearing in several films including ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), '' 15 Minutes'' (2001), ''Life or Something Like It'' (200 ...

for Epix that ran for two seasons.

Theater

*'' Bridge & Tunnel'' is the title of a 2006 critically acclaimed, Tony Award-winning Broadway play

References

{{Reflist Class-related slurs Culture of New York City Stereotypes