Tappan Zee work started?

[PHLBOS]

I am sorry I am deviating into politics here, but this has to do with management practices of our dear governor Cuomo II.
Andrew Cuomo is a boy from a good family:  farther-  Cuomo I - former governor of NYS;   Andrew was married to  RFK's daughter - and seems to be a member of the clan even after divorce. As such, Andrew Cuomo seems to have hard time understanding word "no". Given his presidential ambitions, it may be more than a local issue. I don't know what was the role of then-AG in renaming RFK bridge, though, so having Cuomo bridge and RFK bridge not far from Washington bridge and Lincoln tunnel may be just a coincidence
There were more than a few situations when he pushed for things no matter what, and let unwashed masses deal with that later. "Cuomo highway signs" being another example of Thruway - and highway - related "no matter what", looks like FHWA gave up on enforcing  federal regulations in NYS.
With that, I see "Cuomo bridge" naming - and actively using new name - as yet another way to keep reminding people about the great deeds of our dear leader.  And that is why I expect any memory of Tappan Zee to be carefully suppressed by PR people. Using new name right away is just a logical step - a small step towards White House. And if you think Trump is the worst thing which can happen in White House - think again..

One thing to keep in mind here; there is an election next year for NY's governor's seat.  The best way the public can express their displeasure of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (naming the bridge after his late-father isn't the only issue here) is vote him out of office next year.  Such happened w/his father back in 1994.  Such a defeat could derail Gov. Andrew Cuomo's future political ambitions (at least for seeking another elected office).

[Alps]

Let's avoid unnecessary politics, shall we?

[02 Park Ave]

Infrastructure (bridges, highways, airports, etc.) should be given geographical related names only.

[DeaconG]

Infrastructure (bridges, highways, airports, etc.) should be given geographical related names only.

This reminds me of a science fiction story I read years ago where EVERY public facility was named after a politician. Of course, this was a dystopic sci-fi story...

[roadman65]

We live in an age where tradition is gone and disposable is in.  What I mean is take a look at sports, where ball parks and stadiums were part of not only nostalgia but part of the team spirit!  Now all the teams are building new stadiums and arenas and selling out naming rights. Some like the Amway Arena in Orlando did not even last 25 years old before it was replaced with the latest Amway Centre.

The same goes for road signs as well as we had road signs from the early 40's and many from the 50'w and 60's that lasted for years after and then we have signs erected this century that have been replaced already.

We live in a new era where tradition is out and it is normal to replace.  Our new way of thinking is that we name things after businesses and  current politicians or whatever.  This bridge is no difference in that aspect.

[_Simon]

In this day and age decisions like bridge naming should be done online democratically.  Or at least as nimbly as the way the GWB was named (by school children).  After I heard it was named after a recent politician my first thought was "I'll look the guy up later but I'm sure he was an asshole".  Weather or not that's the case I think people tend to have a similar gut reaction when something they refer to commonly is renamed after someone they dont idolize or know.

SM-G955U

[roadman65]

It is as this constant renaming like with the Ice Palace being renamed first as the St. Pete Times Forum and now the Amalie Arena that makes it hard for some as everyday you wonder what name to use in identifying wondering if the one you are speaking with knows of the change.   I think that is more the problem I find in many cases.   Also when you name it after a politician it gets more flaming as always a political figure is always hated by some.  In fact politics always brings controversy that is why its banned on this forum.

Although we are talking about non road geek reactions here not our own but discussion of politics anyplace with anyone is all the same.

[kalvado]

It is as this constant renaming like with the Ice Palace being renamed first as the St. Pete Times Forum and now the Amalie Arena that makes it hard for some as everyday you wonder what name to use in identifying wondering if the one you are speaking with knows of the change.   I think that is more the problem I find in many cases.   Also when you name it after a politician it gets more flaming as always a political figure is always hated by some.  In fact politics always brings controversy that is why its banned on this forum.

Although we are talking about non road geek reactions here not our own but discussion of politics anyplace with anyone is all the same.

FOr me, it is not even about renaming things - in this specific case things were forced through by someone, who should be recusing from the case due to conflict of interests. Or a bigger question is if we still expect democracy to work - or  that is just a constitutional artifact inhibiting normal government operation.

[roadman65]

I know what you mean there as in NJ we had Brendan Byrne a governor then who named the IZOD Center after him when it was completed in the early 80's.  That there was the biggest conflict of interest there as Byrne did not even name it for a family member but himself.  Many people in NJ were pissed at that one as that should have not at all be allowed as that was like Obama or Bush renaming Washington, DC as Obmama, DC or Bush, DC.

I am not from NY and I do not know what Cuomo does or does not do, and how much he was a part of this (although its a big coincidence that the bridge is named after a family member of his) so I can't air my feelings on it, but personally I have no quarrel with the name even though I was no fan of Mario, but like you said it should not be made by a kin folk.  I do have a quarrel with the Triborough being named after RFK only because it was decades after he died and the fact Kennedy is from Massachusetts and not New York.   Ed Koch is okay as he was famous in NYC and Hugh Carey should have been named for the 9/11 victims instead as that crossing bearing his name was right at ground zero.   There are plenty of places that could be named for Carey who was a governor of New York and should deserve something.

[Duke87]

I know what you mean there as in NJ we had Brendan Byrne a governor then who named the IZOD Center after him when it was completed in the early 80's.  That there was the biggest conflict of interest there as Byrne did not even name it for a family member but himself.  Many people in NJ were pissed at that one as that should have not at all be allowed as that was like Obama or Bush renaming Washington, DC as Obmama, DC or Bush, DC.

Funny enough, my dad always kept referring to it as "Brendan Byrne Arena" even after it started going through corporate renamings. To him, that was what he would always know it as and he refused to acknowledge the naming rights deals.

I suppose as a matter of perspective the Mario Cuomo Bridge is a far less objectionable name than the Monster Energy Drink Bridge or something of that nature.

FOr me, it is not even about renaming things - in this specific case things were forced through by someone, who should be recusing from the case due to conflict of interests.

The fact that the honored individual is the father of the current governor does certainly contribute to the bad taste in people's mouths over this. It reeks of nepotism, and lots of people as a matter of politics have currently active negative associations with the name "Cuomo" in any context.

But it is definitely also the case that, like with I-95 versus "128", people have an emotional attachment to the name "Tappan Zee Bridge" and don't like the idea of any other at all name being used. And while some apologists for the new name may point out that it's an entirely new bridge and therefore not technically a "re-naming", the fact remains that the new bridge is stepping directly into the shoes of a previously existing one and therefore it's totally natural to want to carry the existing identity over. This phenomenon has been previously observed with people insisting on referring to CitiField (also an entirely new structure) as "Shea Stadium", the name of its direct predecessor.

[Alps]

I know what you mean there as in NJ we had Brendan Byrne a governor then who named the IZOD Center after him when it was completed in the early 80's.  That there was the biggest conflict of interest there as Byrne did not even name it for a family member but himself.  Many people in NJ were pissed at that one as that should have not at all be allowed as that was like Obama or Bush renaming Washington, DC as Obmama, DC or Bush, DC.

Funny enough, my dad always kept referring to it as "Brendan Byrne Arena" even after it started going through corporate renamings. To him, that was what he would always know it as and he refused to acknowledge the naming rights deals.

I suppose as a matter of perspective the Mario Cuomo Bridge is a far less objectionable name than the Monster Energy Drink Bridge or something of that nature.

FOr me, it is not even about renaming things - in this specific case things were forced through by someone, who should be recusing from the case due to conflict of interests.

The fact that the honored individual is the father of the current governor does certainly contribute to the bad taste in people's mouths over this. It reeks of nepotism, and lots of people as a matter of politics have currently active negative associations with the name "Cuomo" in any context.

But it is definitely also the case that, like with I-95 versus "128", people have an emotional attachment to the name "Tappan Zee Bridge" and don't like the idea of any other at all name being used. And while some apologists for the new name may point out that it's an entirely new bridge and therefore not technically a "re-naming", the fact remains that the new bridge is stepping directly into the shoes of a previously existing one and therefore it's totally natural to want to carry the existing identity over. This phenomenon has been previously observed with people insisting on referring to CitiField (also an entirely new structure) as "Shea Stadium", the name of its direct predecessor.

It will always be the Tappan Zee Bridge because it will always be the bridge that crosses the Tappan Zee.

[kalvado]

I know what you mean there as in NJ we had Brendan Byrne a governor then who named the IZOD Center after him when it was completed in the early 80's.  That there was the biggest conflict of interest there as Byrne did not even name it for a family member but himself.  Many people in NJ were pissed at that one as that should have not at all be allowed as that was like Obama or Bush renaming Washington, DC as Obmama, DC or Bush, DC.

Funny enough, my dad always kept referring to it as "Brendan Byrne Arena" even after it started going through corporate renamings. To him, that was what he would always know it as and he refused to acknowledge the naming rights deals.

I suppose as a matter of perspective the Mario Cuomo Bridge is a far less objectionable name than the Monster Energy Drink Bridge or something of that nature.

FOr me, it is not even about renaming things - in this specific case things were forced through by someone, who should be recusing from the case due to conflict of interests.

The fact that the honored individual is the father of the current governor does certainly contribute to the bad taste in people's mouths over this. It reeks of nepotism, and lots of people as a matter of politics have currently active negative associations with the name "Cuomo" in any context.

But it is definitely also the case that, like with I-95 versus "128", people have an emotional attachment to the name "Tappan Zee Bridge" and don't like the idea of any other at all name being used. And while some apologists for the new name may point out that it's an entirely new bridge and therefore not technically a "re-naming", the fact remains that the new bridge is stepping directly into the shoes of a previously existing one and therefore it's totally natural to want to carry the existing identity over. This phenomenon has been previously observed with people insisting on referring to CitiField (also an entirely new structure) as "Shea Stadium", the name of its direct predecessor.

It will always be the Tappan Zee Bridge because it will always be the bridge that crosses the Tappan Zee.

And of course LaGuardia will always be known as such, not to mention Penn station! But honestly it would be nice to have sound choices for travel to NYC: plane to Cuomo airport instead of that old dirty LGA,  taking train to beautiful Cuomo station, or driving across nice Cuomo bridge...
Cynical, but not 100% unrealistic.

[Alps]

I know what you mean there as in NJ we had Brendan Byrne a governor then who named the IZOD Center after him when it was completed in the early 80's.  That there was the biggest conflict of interest there as Byrne did not even name it for a family member but himself.  Many people in NJ were pissed at that one as that should have not at all be allowed as that was like Obama or Bush renaming Washington, DC as Obmama, DC or Bush, DC.

Funny enough, my dad always kept referring to it as "Brendan Byrne Arena" even after it started going through corporate renamings. To him, that was what he would always know it as and he refused to acknowledge the naming rights deals.

I suppose as a matter of perspective the Mario Cuomo Bridge is a far less objectionable name than the Monster Energy Drink Bridge or something of that nature.

FOr me, it is not even about renaming things - in this specific case things were forced through by someone, who should be recusing from the case due to conflict of interests.

The fact that the honored individual is the father of the current governor does certainly contribute to the bad taste in people's mouths over this. It reeks of nepotism, and lots of people as a matter of politics have currently active negative associations with the name "Cuomo" in any context.

But it is definitely also the case that, like with I-95 versus "128", people have an emotional attachment to the name "Tappan Zee Bridge" and don't like the idea of any other at all name being used. And while some apologists for the new name may point out that it's an entirely new bridge and therefore not technically a "re-naming", the fact remains that the new bridge is stepping directly into the shoes of a previously existing one and therefore it's totally natural to want to carry the existing identity over. This phenomenon has been previously observed with people insisting on referring to CitiField (also an entirely new structure) as "Shea Stadium", the name of its direct predecessor.

It will always be the Tappan Zee Bridge because it will always be the bridge that crosses the Tappan Zee.

And of course LaGuardia will always be known as such, not to mention Penn station! But honestly it would be nice to have sound choices for travel to NYC: plane to Cuomo airport instead of that old dirty LGA,  taking train to beautiful Cuomo station, or driving across nice Cuomo bridge...
Cynical, but not 100% unrealistic.

More likely Trump, and not even for the politics, just the money. (Remember, he has two NY state parks named after him, and being President hasn't changed that.)

[kalvado]

And of course LaGuardia will always be known as such, not to mention Penn station! But honestly it would be nice to have sound choices for travel to NYC: plane to Cuomo airport instead of that old dirty LGA,  taking train to beautiful Cuomo station, or driving across nice Cuomo bridge...
Cynical, but not 100% unrealistic.

More likely Trump, and not even for the politics, just the money. (Remember, he has two NY state parks named after him, and being President hasn't changed that.)

Thing is, Cuomo pushed for serious renovation of LGA and what amounts to a new Penn station. So, unlike Trump, he has some bragging rights for those, as well as for new Tappan Zee. I am still not sure if there are enough money in  NYS to pay for those; but his role in infrastructure projects cannot be denied.
If Trump makes his list of megaprojects to actually work, he will have similar rights for those.. But having no  father-president who happen to share the last name makes things a bit more difficult for Trump...

[Alps]

And of course LaGuardia will always be known as such, not to mention Penn station! But honestly it would be nice to have sound choices for travel to NYC: plane to Cuomo airport instead of that old dirty LGA,  taking train to beautiful Cuomo station, or driving across nice Cuomo bridge...
Cynical, but not 100% unrealistic.

More likely Trump, and not even for the politics, just the money. (Remember, he has two NY state parks named after him, and being President hasn't changed that.)

Thing is, Cuomo pushed for serious renovation of LGA and what amounts to a new Penn station. So, unlike Trump, he has some bragging rights for those, as well as for new Tappan Zee. I am still not sure if there are enough money in  NYS to pay for those; but his role in infrastructure projects cannot be denied.
If Trump makes his list of megaprojects to actually work, he will have similar rights for those.. But having no  father-president who happen to share the last name makes things a bit more difficult for Trump...

But Trump Jr. does! In seriousness, LaGuardia is already named for a politician, so who cares if it gets named for another? I think we should start accepting that things are heading in this direction in general. Buildings, sports arenas, bridges, nothing is going to be sacred. Cherish the ones that remain, while they do.

[kalvado]

And of course LaGuardia will always be known as such, not to mention Penn station! But honestly it would be nice to have sound choices for travel to NYC: plane to Cuomo airport instead of that old dirty LGA,  taking train to beautiful Cuomo station, or driving across nice Cuomo bridge...
Cynical, but not 100% unrealistic.

More likely Trump, and not even for the politics, just the money. (Remember, he has two NY state parks named after him, and being President hasn't changed that.)

Thing is, Cuomo pushed for serious renovation of LGA and what amounts to a new Penn station. So, unlike Trump, he has some bragging rights for those, as well as for new Tappan Zee. I am still not sure if there are enough money in  NYS to pay for those; but his role in infrastructure projects cannot be denied.
If Trump makes his list of megaprojects to actually work, he will have similar rights for those.. But having no  father-president who happen to share the last name makes things a bit more difficult for Trump...

But Trump Jr. does! In seriousness, LaGuardia is already named for a politician, so who cares if it gets named for another? I think we should start accepting that things are heading in this direction in general. Buildings, sports arenas, bridges, nothing is going to be sacred. Cherish the ones that remain, while they do.

And personally I am OK with that. Some people say that you need to name things only after the person is retired; some prefer to say that being dead - and even better dead for 10 year - should be naming requirement to avoid massive renamings after yet another scandal.
Specific problem of Tappan Zee is being shamelessly used to promote personal agenda using "my father's name" excuse, with honorable mention going to new nobility class with Bush, Clinton, Cuomo and (a bit north, but to show the trend) Turdeau being just top of the iceberg.

[1995hoo]

Probably a classic road-related example of why some people advocate waiting until a person has died is Pete Rose Way in Cincinnati.

[PHLBOS]

Let's avoid unnecessary politics, shall we?

Given that it was politics involved behind the naming the new bridge in the first place; merely mentioning a possible antidote/election year scenario on the matter is 100% fair game.

It could have been worse; a bank could gotten naming rights for the bridge and the name of the bridge would change at every merger.  See Philly's Core-States/First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center as an example of 3 merger-related name changes in just a 20-year period.
 

[kalvado]

Let's avoid unnecessary politics, shall we?

Given that it was politics involved behind the naming the new bridge in the first place; merely mentioning a possible antidote/election year scenario on the matter is 100% fair game.

It could have been worse; a bank could gotten naming rights for the bridge and the name of the bridge would change at every merger.  See Philly's Core-States/First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center as an example of 3 merger-related name changes in just a 20-year period.

BTW, is there any similar examples for roads?
I believe  Ted Stevens had some associated naming issues, but I don't remember any road naming rights being sold yet...

[PHLBOS]

It could have been worse; a bank could gotten naming rights for the bridge and the name of the bridge would change at every merger.  See Philly's Core-States/First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center as an example of 3 merger-related name changes in just a 20-year period.

BTW, is there any similar examples for roads?
I believe  Ted Stevens had some associated naming issues, but I don't remember any road naming rights being sold yet...

Not that I'm aware of.

[bzakharin]

Let's avoid unnecessary politics, shall we?

Given that it was politics involved behind the naming the new bridge in the first place; merely mentioning a possible antidote/election year scenario on the matter is 100% fair game.

It could have been worse; a bank could gotten naming rights for the bridge and the name of the bridge would change at every merger.  See Philly's Core-States/First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center as an example of 3 merger-related name changes in just a 20-year period.
 

If only they just named it "Spectrum 2" which was how it was referred to while being built. Then the bank name would just be a prefix as with the original Spectrum.

[PHLBOS]

If only they just named it "Spectrum 2" which was how it was referred to while being built.

I know, I actually worked on the site-development plans for that project.

[SidS1045]

I do have a quarrel with the Triborough being named after RFK only because it was decades after he died and the fact Kennedy is from Massachusetts and not New York.

RFK never represented Massachusetts in any elective office.  He was the junior US senator from New York when he was assassinated.  (New York has some of the least restrictive residency requirements for public officials.)

[jwolfer]

Here in Jacksonville FL there are 2 bridges named for politcians that are never called by their official names.

295 east beltway over St Johns River is officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge.. Its known as Dames Point Bridge ( his was from the area and drained a lot of th Everglades as governor... Broward County was named for him)

US1/90 over the St Johns River is named the John T Alsop Bridge... Its called Main St Bridge even on BGS.

It will probably always be known as the Tappan Zee Bridge by most everyone



LGMS428

[PHLBOS]

Here in Jacksonville FL there are 2 bridges named for politcians that are never called by their official names.

295 east beltway over St Johns River is officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge.. Its known as Dames Point Bridge ( his was from the area and drained a lot of th Everglades as governor... Broward County was named for him)

US1/90 over the St Johns River is named the John T Alsop Bridge... Its called Main St Bridge even on BGS.

It will probably always be known as the Tappan Zee Bridge by most everyone

I believe the plan is to revise all the signs directing motorists to the new bridge to show its new name.  Which will, in turn, lead to navigation software/GPS systems to eventually refer to the bridge by what it's signed as.