While Save Our Tappan Zee does not endorse any particular political party or individual running for office, we will always share statements and news regarding individuals who support our cause.  The latest individual to do so is NY Congressional Candidate Mike Parietti.  He is running for Nita Lowey's vacant seat on the SAM (Serve America Party) ticket.

Here is a statement he has provided to Save Our Tappan Zee:

---A STATEMENT FROM MIKE PARIETTI TO SOTZ SUPPORTERS---

Significant public participation should be mandatory in the naming process of any public works projects that receive federal funding of any kind.

If elected to congress I will push for federal legislation that requires public participation in the naming of any public works project that receives federal funding. It would also explicitly prohibit such projects from being named for any sitting elected official or even living former elected officials or members of their family.

I was disappointed when the legislature acquiesced to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s demand that the new Tappan Zee bridge be named after his father.  I was appalled when Cuomo stripped out the words Tappan Zee from the name of the new bridge all together. This was a blunt force abuse of power.  The old bridge had officially been called the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee bridge.

The sitting Governor should not abuse his power and misappropriate the naming rights to the largest public works project in recent history.

The fair market value of the naming rights to the new Tappan Zee Bridge are astronomical. 

Look at the naming rights for Shea stadium purchased by Citibank in 2009. The new stadium cost nearly 900 million dollars to build. Citibank cut a $400 million dollar deal over 20 years to call it Citifield, not Citibank Field, just Citifield. That comes out to be $20 Million dollars a year. 

Annual attendance to Citifield, averaged out over the life of the contract to date is 2,464,303, and Citi is paying 20 million for that number of Eyeballs per year. Citibank understands the economic power of name recognition, which is why they are willing to pay so much for naming rights that only include half of its brand name, which does not even include any inkling of what business they are in.

Now let’s compare the Tappan Zee Bridge to the Citifield situation. 

It is estimated that 140,000 vehicles cross the new Tappan Zee bridge every day. 

A conservative estimate of occupancy rates is about 1.5 people per vehicle. 

Multiply 140,000 by 1.5 and you get 210,000 people crossing the Tapp every day. 

Multiply 210,000 by 365 and you get 76,650,000 million people crossing the bridge every year. 

Divide 76,650,000 by 2,464,303 which is the average annual attendance of Citifield (which Citibank is $20 million a year for) and you get 31.1

Then multiply 31.1 times 20 million and you get and an estimated $622 million dollars’ worth of annual naming rights for the new Tappan zee bridge. 

Safe to say this is an extraordinary sum of money that should not have been misappropriated by the Tappan governor. 

New York State election law clearly states that all in-kind contributions to a candidate must be recorded as a donation at its fair market value even if the candidate did not pay for it. I have checked Governor Cuomo’s campaign account and I see no in-kind contributions listed from the federal government or the state at all, let alone for $622 million.

If New York State leased or sold the naming rights to the highest corporate bidder we would certainly reap hundreds of million dollars a year that could be applied to many worthy and needy causes around the state. You might bring in less than the $622 million estimate, and you might even get more. There are likely many corporate interests that would pay top dollar to have their name inscribed on and associate with a public structure as iconic as the Tappan Zee bridge. I am also certain that every one of those entities would insist on leaving the words Tappan Zee attached to their corporate name because they realize the very positive association most people have with the those words and would want those positive vibes to rub off on them as well. 

Leasing or selling the naming rights is one option. The other is to name the bridge after someone who has led an exemplary life or done something truly heroic whose story should be taught and told to generations of New Yorkers. I understand that there is a bill in the New York State senate to rename the NYS Thruway for Frederick Douglas the escaped slave and abolitionist who was based in Rochester. It is currently named after Gov. Thomas Dewey, but I think it is an excellent idea. Governor's names are etched in history forever. They don’t need to have things named after them. Frederick has a life story we can all learn from. 

I think we should consider a name change in the same vein as the thruway for the new Tappan Zee. 

If it was my decision, I would name the new bridge the Crowther – Mahoney Tappan Zee after two home grown heroes of September 11th and the recent pandemic.

Welles Crowther who hailed from Upper Nyack, was the “Man in the Red Bandana” who saved the lives of at least 18 people in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Dr. James Mahoney treated patients during the AIDs crisis, after 9/11, and on the front lines of the pandemic in New York City this past spring, until he contracted the virus himself.

Both Crowther and Mahoney displayed raw courage in the face of physical danger and made the ultimate sacrifice, laying down their own lives in a bid to save others. Naming the Tappan Zee Bridge after them both would spread awareness of their sacrifice and help teach our children about the true meaning of public service.  

However, the naming of the bridge should not up to me or any other single person.  The point is that there are many worthy people whom we could name the bridge after, in conjunction with the words Tappan Zee of course. However, there should definitely be a process involving extensive public participation such as a referendum or other means, before such a decision is made.

Can you imagine what a great feeling we would have every time we crossed the Tapp or saw the signage if it were named after iconic heroes who led by example in their moment of truth? The idea that we all came together as a community, and as a state, set politics aside and used the privilege to name our bridge after someone who we all universally revere?

As it is now, I truly believe when we see Mario Cuomo’s name on the bridge, no positive thoughts about the former governor’s life come to mind, but rather we are simply reminded of how self-serving public officials routinely abuse their power to their own benefit.  I mean no disrespect to Mario Cuomo. I’m confident that he was a great governor and father, but most of us hold our parents in high regards as well, and would love to honor them by naming a public project after them. We realize however, that such a decision should never be left up to one person, no matter how much political power they may wield.

Governor Cuomo recently made use of an email survey to help citizens decide collectively what iconic New York State landmark would be featured on the latest version of our specialty license plate. The process seemed to go pretty smoothly. Why not try something like that for deciding the who the new Tappan Zee bridge should be named after?

I believe that there are many legislators from across the country that will agree with me on this point and be willing to get a bill passed in Congress that makes public participation a mandatory element of the naming process of any public works project that receives federal funding.

More info at: mikeinthehouse.com
Facebook: pariettiforcongress

To vote for Mike Parietti, vote on the ballet for the SAM Party (Serve America Party), Row 'H' on the ballet.