Proposed bill to restore Tappan Zee Bridge name put on hold

<p>The Tappan Zee Bridge name debate continues as Albany lawmakers are still split on the issue.</p>

News 12 Staff

Jun 22, 2018, 10:58 AM

Updated 2,298 days ago

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The Tappan Zee Bridge name debate continues as Albany lawmakers are still split on the issue.
Late Wednesday night, the New York State Senate voted in favor of a compromised bill that would have renamed the new bridge The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge.
The Senate vote took place just minutes after the Democratic-controlled State Assembly ended its annual legislative session without even putting the bill to a vote.
State Sens. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Shelley Mayer, David Carlucci and Terrence Murphy were among the 40 lawmakers who voted in support of the compromise bill.
The controversy began last year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers approved a measure to name the new $4 billion bridge after Cuomo's father.
The vote happened late at night during the final minutes of the 2017 legislative session.
That sparked outrage from many especially in the Lower Hudson Valley, which led to an online petition that garnered more than 100,000 signatures. It was delivered to the state's capitol earlier this month.
The bill approved by the Senate was a result of that petition.
The people behind the petition say the number of signatures continues to grow, and they will take it up again when lawmakers are back in session.