Sponsorship

A.10789 - SILVER, BRODSKY, GOTTFRIED, cahill, canestrari, clark, cymbrowitz, gianaris, hoyt, lavine, nolan, scarborough, titone / S.7231 - BRUNO, LEIBELL, ADAMS, ALESI, AUBERTINE, BONACIC, BRESLIN, CONNOR,
DEFRANCISCO, DIAZ, DILAN, DUANE, FARLEY, FLANAGAN, FUSCHILLO, GOLDEN,
GONZALEZ, GRIFFO, HANNON, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HUNTLEY, JOHNSON C,
JOHNSON O, KLEIN, KRUEGER, KRUGER, LANZA, LARKIN, LAVALLE, LIBOUS,
LITTLE, MALTESE, MARCELLINO, MAZIARZ, MONTGOMERY, MORAHAN, NOZZOLIO,
ONORATO, OPPENHEIMER, PADAVAN, PARKER, PERKINS, RATH, ROBACH, SABINI,
SALAND, SAMPSON, SAVINO, SCHNEIDERMAN, SERRANO, SEWARD, SKELOS, SMITH
STACHOWSKI, STAVISKY, STEWART-COUSINS, THOMPSON, TRUNZO, VALESKY,
VOLKER, WINNER, YOUNG, ADAMS.

Memorandum in Support

BILL NUMBER: A10789

TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public authorities law, the environmental conservation law and the highway law, in relation to memorializing Robert F. Kennedy by renaming the Triborough bridge as Robert F. Kennedy bridge

PURPOSE :

This bill acknowledges the great contribution of Robert F. Kennedy to the State of New York and our nation by changing the name of the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill recites the legislative findings and intent to formally acknowledge the contributions made by Robert F. Kennedy.

Sections 2 through 12 of the bill amend the sections of law in which the name "Triborough Bridge" appears in order to rename the bridge - which constitutes a series of spans and associated structures that connect the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx - as the "Robert F. Kennedy Bridge."

Section 13 of the bill provides that occurrences of the name "Triborough Bridge" in any laws, regulations, contracts or other documents shall be deemed to be "Robert F. Kennedy Bridge," and that such laws, regulations, contracts or other documents shall not be impaired by the change of name caused by this bill. This section does not refer to the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which maintains many New York City facilities.

Section 14 of the bill addresses issues regarding the signage of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, and section 15 provides that the bill becomes effective immediately.

EXISTING LAW :

Existing law designates the series of spans and associated structures that connect the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx as the "Triborough Bridge."

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

Robert F. Kennedy`s family moved to New York shortly after his birth in 1925, and maintained a home in Bronxville, New York until 1942, where Robert F. Kennedy attended Bronxville Public School for the third through fifth grades. The State of New York and our entire nation were enriched by Robert F. Kennedy`s service as the sixty-fourth Attorney General of the United States, and trusted advisor to the President. As a member of the President`s cabinet, Robert F. Kennedy was instrumental in averting untold disaster during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Kennedy later represented the State of New York in the United States Senate with great distinction, from 1965 until his untimely death in 1968, working tirelessly to improve the lives of New Yorkers, fighting poverty and advancing the civil rights movement. Senator Kennedy`s contributions to New York include the formation of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation in 1967, the oldest community development corporation in the nation. Common throughout Kennedy`s many works was an effort to bridge gaps among persons of diverse racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds. It would thus be appropriate to recognize Robert F. Kennedy, a great New Yorker, in this fortieth year following his tragic assassination, by renaming the Triborough Bridge as the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

This legislation will have minimal budgetary impact, owing to the cost of signage.

EFFECTIVE DATE : This bill becomes effective upon enactment.