The Cuomo Bridge? Top lawmaker has idea for new Tappan Zee Bridge

ALBANY - A top state lawmaker wants to name the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement after former Gov. Mario Cuomo, making the suggestion Tuesday at a breakfast reception in the capital city.

Longtime Assemblyman Denny Farrell, D-Manhattan, said Tuesday it would be "very nice" to name the $3.9 billion, still-under-construction bridge after the late former governor, whose son, current Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has spearheaded construction of the new Hudson River span between Westchester and Rockland counties.

Farrell, who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee, made the remarks at a reception at the Executive Mansion marking his pending retirement at the end of his term.

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The suggestion came as Farrell spoke emotionally about the former governor Cuomo, whom Farrell -- then the Manhattan Democratic chairman -- made a controversial decision to support in the 1982 race for governor against then-New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

Mario Cuomo served three terms as New York governor from 1983 through 1994.

"I think there’s a bridge you’re building up there," Farrell said to the current governor. "I think up there, it would be very nice if it became the Cuomo Bridge. It would be something we could look forward to.”

The three-mile-long bridge project is one of the largest public-works projects in the country.

Lawmakers have introduced no fewer than three bills that would name the replacement for the Tappan Zee, each with a different suggested name.

Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern, Rockland County, sponsors a bill that would name it The Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Bridge, while Queens Sen. Tony Avella has suggested naming it for the late folk singer Pete Seeger.

A third bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Galef, D-Ossining, Westchester County, and Sen. Bill Larkin, R-New Windsor, Orange County, would name it The Purple Heart Memorial Bridge.

The current bridge is named after former Gov. Malcolm Wilson, who was raised in Yonkers.

Construction of a new bridge began in 2013, and Thruway officials expect to open its first span later this year. The full bridge is scheduled to open in 2018.

The private reception Tuesday was held by Andrew Cuomo and closed to the public. A recording of Farrell's remarks were obtained by the USA Today Network's Albany Bureau.

Farrell, 85, has been a state lawmaker for more than four decades. He is not expected to seek re-election in 2018.

Cuomo awarded Farrell with a medal marking his public service.

“In many ways, you’ve been part of the Cuomo family for a long time, and I thank you for it," Cuomo said.