With the possible return to politics of former Governor Andrew Cuomo, a renewed call to rename the bridge named after his father Mario M. Cuomo, back to the Tappan Zee Brdge, has also begun.
Rockland County Assemblyman Mike Lawler, Gubernatorial candidate and former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, and Rockland County Executive Ed Day held a press conference on March 18 to call on Governor Hochul to immediately restore the name of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
“With Andrew Cuomo in the early stages of a political comeback, it’s clear that we need to immediately restore the name of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Any delay is unacceptable, and may prevent us from ever righting this wrong,” said Lawler.
“In a recent legislative survey, over 90% of respondents in my district favor restoring the Tappan Zee Bridge’s name. It reflects Rockland County’s diverse and rich history, honoring both the Tappan Tribe of the Lenape People, as well as the early Dutch settlers of the region.”
“I call on all of my colleagues to support bill A.6594 and help us pass this legislation. With the threat of Andrew Cuomo looming, now is the time to make this change.”
The Mario M. Cuomo bridge was renamed in 2017. Back then Astorino opposed the renaming, as he does today. “I would have no problem keeping it the Governor Malcolm Wilson Bridge,” he continued. “That was approved through public discussion. There was no legitimate reason to strip the name of a former governor who had deep connections to Westchester in favor of someone who did not,” said Astorino back in 2017,
The bridge was known in Westchester and Rockland as the Tappan Zee Bridge for generations, but the bridge was actually named after former Governor Malcolm Wilson, from Yonkers, but nobody used that name.
Four years ago, the debate over the bridge renaming made a lot of news, and had a lot of critics from Westchester. Now, four years later, there doesn’t seem to be any serious support to change the name again.
And Lawler’s Assembly bill may never make it out of the democratic controlled Assembly, and agreed to by the democratic controlled senate, before going to Governor Hochul, who might be opposed to the idea.
