New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced the Assembly’s final legislative passage of a measure which acknowledges the great contribution of Robert F. Kennedy to the State of New York and our nation by changing the name of the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.
Under the measure, New York City’s Triborough Bridge – which constitutes a series of spans and associated structures that connect the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx -would officially be renamed as “Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.”
Silver noted that Robert F. Kennedy’s family moved to New York shortly after his birth in 1925, and maintained a home in Bronxville, New York until 1942, where Kennedy attended Bronxville Public School for the third through fifth grades.
“The State of New York and our entire nation were enriched by Robert F. Kennedy’s service as the sixty-fourth Attorney General of the United States, and trusted advisor to the President. As a member of the President’s cabinet, Robert F. Kennedy was instrumental in averting untold disaster during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962,” said Silver (D-Manhattan).
Kennedy later represented the State of New York in the United States Senate with great distinction, from 1965 until his untimely death in 1968, working tirelessly to improve the lives of New Yorkers, fighting poverty and advancing the civil rights movement. Senator Kennedy’s contributions to New York include the formation of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in 1967, the oldest community development corporation in the nation.
“Common throughout Kennedy’s many works was an effort to bridge gaps among persons of diverse racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds. It is entirely appropriate to recognize Robert F. Kennedy, a great New Yorker, in this 40th year following his tragic assassination, by renaming the Triborough Bridge as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge,” said Silver.
The bill now goes to Governor Paterson for his consideration.
The Triborough Bridge opened in 1936. It is actually three bridges, a viaduct, and 14 miles of approach roads connecting Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx.
The Manhattan branch is the Harlem River Lift Bridge, which links the Harlem River Drive, the FDR Drive, and 125th Street, Harlem’s commercial and cultural center. The Bronx Crossing leads motorists to points north via the Bruckner and Deegan expressways and, more locally, to the neighborhoods of the South Bronx and the Port Morris Industrial Area. The longest span of the Triborough Bridge, the East River Suspension Bridge to Queens, connects with the Grand Central Parkway and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and to Astoria’s residential areas, restaurants, and shops.
The bridge’s three branches meet on Randall’s Island, where an interchange and two toll plazas sort out traffic flowing in 12 directions and provide access to the island itself. Adjacent to the Manhattan toll plaza is the Robert Moses Administration Building, the TBTA’s headquarters.
Randall’s Island is largely city parkland; that includes Downing Stadium, softball fields, tennis courts, picnic areas, and some city facilities. In 1951, the TBTA constructed and gave to the city a pedestrian bridge between 103rd Street in Manhattan and Wards Island, providing another access by foot to Randall’s Island and Wards Island.
(YWN News Desk – NYC)
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4 Responses
We are glad to see that the governor is real busy on serious issues.
Changing signs and other stuff will cost the city and state millions of dollars.
We would like to thank all our elected officials for working so hard on these important issues.
to lavdafka:
what about all those poor govt contractors who need the money to print / make up signs. and those poor bridge workers who need the work to feed their poor families (many outside new york). and how can we ignore the state legislators who have much less imoportant work like tuition tax credits and other beni’s they promise abnd never deliver. better they work on this than on toaivah issues. (oops, the courts and paterson will work on toeivah — the state legislators dont work on anything. and thanx to our good buddy the “heimish” assembly leader.)
what about all our askanuimk who make sure to get the all important “govt contracts” and “govt grants”, but not to benefit us!
If they wait a little longer they can name it after Teddy.
CRAZY Silver vs. BRILLIANT Lakewooder
Build a NEW bridge from Lakewood to Brooklyn, ok! From NJ to Brooklyn, so we won’t have to sit anymore in Yeshivas Staten Island Expressway for another Zeman, and name it after Robert the tax robber.