Sen. Skoufis pushes legislation to change Mario M. Cuomo Bridge back to Tappan Zee

Sen. Skoufis suggests instead putting Mario Cuomo's name on a roadway in Queens, where the Cuomo family is from.

News 12 Staff

Feb 21, 2023, 10:16 PM

Updated 650 days ago

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Democratic state Sen. James Skoufis is sponsoring a bill to change the name of the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge back to the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Skoufis suggests instead putting Mario Cuomo's name on a roadway in Queens, where the Cuomo family is from.
“I'm totally supportive of that, but let's not rip away an existing dedication, an existing name, like what happened here at the Tappan Zee,” Skoufis says.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo got the Legislature to name the replacement bridge after his father just before it opened in 2018.
Every year since, Republican lawmakers have pushed a bill to change it back to the Tappan Zee, but it never passed.
Nyack Village Trustee Marie Lorenzini says she is in support of the legislation and wants the bridge to go back to being named for the Tappan tribe who first lived in the area.
"I thank them for taking this action. I hoped it would have come sooner, but at least it's here," she says.
Skoufis says the only taxpayer-cost associated with changing the name would be replacing signs. He even suggested reusing the old Tappan Zee signs if the Department of Transportation still has them to reduce the cost.
News 12 asked Gov. Kathy Hochul during an appearance in White Plains what she thought of the legislation. She said Gov. Mario Cuomo was a great governor and that she will review the legislation if this it passes and ends up on her desk.