Amd §356, Pub Auth L; amd §§13-0103 & 13-0307, En Con L; amd §§342-ww & 349-a, Hway L
Renames the Governor Mario M. Cuomo bridge the Tappan Zee bridge; directs the commissioner of transportation to provide for the installation and maintenance of adequate signing of the state highway system.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6594
SPONSOR: Lawler TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public authorities law, the environmental conserva-
tion law and the highway law, in relation to renaming the Governor Mario
M. Cuomo bridge the Tappan Zee bridge
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
to revert the name of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge back to the
Tappan Zee bridge
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends subdivision 2 section 356 of the public authorities
law
Section 2: amends section 13-0103 of the environmental conservation law
Section 3: amends subdivision 1, section 13-0307 of the environmental
conservation law
Section 4: amends section 342-ww of the highway law
Section 5: amends subdivision 2, section 349-a of the highway law
Section 6: directs the commissioner of transportation to provide for the
installation of signage
Section 7: provides the effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
The name "Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge" does not reflect the rich Dutch
and Native American history that Hudson Valley residents connect with.
It's time that we revert the name of this beautiful bridge back to its
rightful name - the Tappan Zee Bridge. Over 100,000 residents requested
this in 2018, and it still rings true in 2021.
Reverting the name back to the Tappan Zee Bridge ties it to our local
communities, where we have names such as Tappan Zee High School, and
also reminds us of the rich history of this crossing. The Dutch settlers
that came to the Hudson Valley in the 17th Century named this crossing
"Tappan Zee", after a local Indian tribe and the Dutch word for sea. The
Tappan tribe, a Lenape people, inhabited much of the area and their name
is carried forth in localities across New York and New Jersey, including
Old Tappan in Bergen County and Tappan in Rockland County. Changing the
name to reflect our region's rich history is the appropriate path
forward and changing the name back to the Tappan Zee Bridge will do just
that.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6594
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 19, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LAWLER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, the environmental conserva-
tion law and the highway law, in relation to renaming the Governor
Mario M. Cuomo bridge the Tappan Zee bridge
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 356 of the public authorities law,
2 as amended by section 6 of part M of chapter 61 of the laws of 2017, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 2. The Hudson section. Beginning at the northerly end of the southern
5 Westchester connection at or near Tuckahoe road, thence in a general
6 northerly and westerly direction crossing the Hudson river at a point
7 south of Highland Falls, which crossing shall be known as "The [Governor
8 Mario M. Cuomo] Tappan Zee Bridge", including a highway connection
9 between "The [Governor Mario M. Cuomo] Tappan Zee Bridge" and the New
10 England section of the thruway presently known as interstate route two
11 hundred eighty-seven, thence in a general westerly direction to inter-
12 sect with existing route number seventeen or to a connection with that
13 route, including a thruway connection from that portion of the section
14 west of the Hudson river, generally southerly to a point to be deter-
15 mined by the authority on the New York-New Jersey boundary line.
16 § 2. Section 13-0103 of the environmental conservation law, as amended
17 by section 7 of part M of chapter 61 of the laws of 2017, is amended to
18 read as follows:
19 § 13-0103. Marine and coastal district described.
20 The marine and coastal district shall include the waters of the Atlan-
21 tic Ocean within three nautical miles from the coast line and all other
22 tidal waters within the state, including the Hudson River up to the
23 [Governor Mario M. Cuomo] Tappan Zee bridge.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10278-01-1
A. 6594 2
1 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 13-0307 of the environmental conserva-
2 tion law, as amended by section 8 of part M of chapter 61 of the laws of
3 2017, is amended to read as follows:
4 1. The department periodically shall examine all shellfish lands with-
5 in the marine district and the Hudson River between the [Governor Mario
6 M. Cuomo] Tappan Zee bridge and the federal dam at Troy to ascertain
7 the sanitary condition thereof in accordance with regulations promulgat-
8 ed pursuant to section 13-0319 of this title.
9 § 4. Section 342-ww of the highway law, as amended by section 9 of
10 part M of chapter 61 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
11 § 342-ww. Portion of the New York state thruway to be designated as
12 the "Jewish War Veterans Memorial Highway". All that portion of the New
13 York state thruway in the county of Rockland constituting interstate
14 route 287 from the New Jersey border to "The [Governor Mario M. Cuomo]
15 Tappan Zee Bridge" shall be designated and known as the "Jewish War
16 Veterans Memorial Highway".
17 § 5. Subdivision 2 of section 349-a of the highway law, as amended by
18 section 10 of part M of chapter 61 of the laws of 2017, is amended to
19 read as follows:
20 2. The Hudson section. Beginning at the northerly end of the southern
21 Westchester connection at or near Tuckahoe road, thence in a general
22 northerly and westerly direction crossing the Hudson river at a point
23 south of Highland Falls, which crossing shall be known as "The [Governor
24 Mario M. Cuomo] Tappan Zee Bridge", thence in a general westerly direc-
25 tion to intersect with existing route number seventeen or to a
26 connection with that route, including a thruway connection from that
27 portion of the section west of the Hudson river, generally southerly to
28 a point to be determined by the authority on the New York-New Jersey
29 boundary line.
30 § 6. The commissioner of transportation shall provide for the instal-
31 lation and maintenance of adequate signing of the state highway system
32 as designated pursuant to this act.
33 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
