Assemblyman John McGowan (R,C-Rockland) introduced legislation in an attempt to revert the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge back to its original name, the Tappan Zee Bridge (A.4588). The bridge was renamed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2017 as a tribute to his family name. Last year, an effort to rename the bridge back to the Tappan Zee was made by former Assemblyman Mike Lawler, but the bill was not signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. This year, the bill gained bi-partisan support in the Senate, however, it was struck down once again today in committee, making it the second time this legislation will not pass.

“Renaming the Tappan Zee Bridge back to its original name is important for our region’s history, yet the Albany Majority blocked this legislation for no reason other than politics. The disgraced former governor does not deserve to have his family name on a major piece of infrastructure that connects Nyack to Tarrytown any longer than it has been,” said McGowan. “When the name originally changed, there was not a public forum or a vote; instead, Cuomo changed it of his own accord, and today, rather than correct this and restore the history of the Bridge to what it should be, Albany Majority blocked this appropriate change from happening. The Dutch settlers who came to the Hudson Valley in the 17th Century named this crossing ‘Tappan Zee,’ after a local Native American tribe and the Dutch word for sea. The residents of the 97th Assembly District deserve to have the name changed back,” concluded McGowan.