NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Democratic committee chair in the New York State Assembly temporarily blocked on Monday a Republican-sponsored bill to rename the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge as the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Just days before former Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace over multiple sexual misconduct allegations, Republican Mike Lawler pushed his bill to rename the bridge, which connects Rockland and Westchester counties, to its previous name rather than the three-term governor.
"The process by which they named this bridge in the first place was done without local input and was done in a secretive manner," he told The New York Post. "It was wrong then and it’s wrong now. The [state Department of Transportation] has the signs they could easily put them back up."
Despite bipartisan support — including Democratic Assembly members Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas and Zohran Mamdani — Lawler told the Post that he believes his political affiliation led Democratic Transportation Committee Chair Bill Magnarelli to block his bill from moving out of committee.
Both are democratic socialists who, along with other GOP members, have signed on as co-sponsors of legislation that, if passed, would require the state Department of Transportation to oversee the installation and maintenance of new signs.
Though more than a quarter-million people signed a petition in support of the idea and public opinion polls indicated widespread support, Maganari blocked the bill.
Democratic Assembly members Emily Gallagher, Kenny Burgos, Marcela Mityanas and Taylor Darling joined Republicans in voting against his motion to block the bill.
While the Democrat declined to comment on his decision to delay the bill, the Post reports that he promised it would be voted on before the end of the 2022 legislative session on June 2.
Magnerelli reportedly said at the meeting that the potential costs and time involved in renaming the bridge mean the time is not right to move the bill forward. He also questioned whether the Thruway Authority should be in charge of the renaming if the bill is ever passed.
Lawler used a parliamentary maneuver on Monday to force the committee to hold at least one vote on the bill's advancement, according to the Post.
"It lives to fight another day so I’m going to keep working on it until I get enough votes to move it out of committee," Lawler said. "No matter where I go, I get asked about how they want the Cuomo name off the bridge."
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