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Mario Cuomo or Tappan Zee Bridge?
The $4 billion dollar Mario Cuomo Bridge was named in 2017 to honor former Governor Andrew Cuomo's late father, but in light of his resignation, there are renewed calls to change the name to the Tappan Zee Bridge.
One of Governor Andrew Cuomo's proudest achievements was naming the bridge that replaced the old Tappan Zee Bridge the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, in honor of his late father.
Cuomo celebrated his pet project when it opened back in 2017, but there was still major pushback on both sides of the bridge about the name change. N
Now, following the allegations against the governor and his resignation in two weeks, a growing number of lawmakers want this $4 billion span to be once again named the Tappan Zee.
"The governor while he had the benefit of recognizing his father, he did that for himself. And if he could have named it the Andrew Cuomo bridge he would have," said Assemblyman Mike Lawler, who introduced legislation to take the Cuomo name off back in March.
Lawler says his bill has picked up steam with lawmakers from across the aisle now co-sponsoring it.
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"We have bipartisan support within the assembly from self-identified socialist to conservative members and everyone in-between" he said.
Lawler says any name changes to the bridge wouldn’t happen before January when he can bring this bill to the Senate floor for a vote.
Meanwhile, the residents who live in nearby Tarrytown argue the original name was historic given the "Tappan" referred to a Native American tribe and "Zee" is Dutch for sea.
FOX 5 NY reached out to the governor’s office, but hasn’t heard back.