The New Bridge Will be Referred to as the Tappan Zee in the Rockland County Times

BY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DYLAN SKRILOFF

Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature recently voted to name the new TZ Bridge the “Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge,” in honor of the sitting governor’s father.

The public at large and our readers specifically have made clear they disagree with this decision.

It would appear Governor Andrew Cuomo dropped the Tappan Zee altogether from the bridge’s official name in hopes of forcing the public to say his father’s name over and over again. As a resident of the area, he knows there is a long tradition of ignoring the official name of the bridge, as nobody has referred to the old TZ as the “Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge.”

His choice to delete “Tappan Zee” entirely from the name of the bridge discards a historical reference to the area’s American Indian and Dutch roots in favor of revering his own family’s fame. We do credit Cuomo for getting the bridge done but by dropping Tappan Zee from its name he has made himself look less like a public servant and more like a pharaoh building monuments to himself.

Mr. Cuomo, you are no Pharaoh Ramses.

In light of Cuomo’s decision to delete the name entirely and replace it with his own, it is the Rockland County Times’ decision to remember history and continue to include Tappan Zee in the name of the bridge.