Cuomo Proposal Threatens Rye with Long Island Tunnel
Rye has been threatened with an 80,000 car and truck (per day) spewing connection from Long Island before.
(PHOTO: If Rye City is not vigilant, this will be your new front lawn, spewing with 80,000 cars and trucks from Long Island each day.)
Here we go again. This past week, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said he wanted to spend $5 million on a feasibility study for a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester County, the Bronx or Connecticut.
The bridge idea first surfaced in 1957 and got stream with Robert Moses in the 1970s who wanted to build a bridge from Oyster Bay to Rye. Then in 2007 it was now dead Garden City Long Island developer Vince Polimeri who wanted to build a $10 billion tunnel that would have surfaced somewhere around the I-95 and I-287 interchange.
And to be clear: Rye is not interested.
Clearly Cuomo is pandering to the Long Island political machine. Don't forget, in 2010, then Governor elect Andrew Cuomo named tunnel nut Polimeni to his "transportation & infrastructure" transition committee. Cuomo is clearly thinking about his legacy:
"But Cuomo bristled at the idea that providing a link over the Long Island Sound would be impossible. “The main point is, we come from people — our founding fathers were a courageous bunch of people,” Cuomo said. “They built great projects. They wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
And another report in LoHud had Cuomo saying
"“Would you say that FDR was a pipe dream? Would you say Robert Moses was a pipe dream?” Cuomo asked. “Was the Verrazano (bridge) a pipe dream? Was the George Washington (Bridge) a pipe dream? Was the (Long Island Expressway) a pipe dream? Was the Empire State Building a pipe dream? Was the Freedom Tower a pipe dream?”"
Oh boy…
Most interesting in the last week as been the lack of deep historical context (on the Moses bridge and the Polimeri tunnel efforts) in media reporting and the "hear a pin drop" lack of reaction from local political leaders. Back in 2007, Rye Mayor Steve Otis blasted the tunnel. Otis is now State Assemblyman. And then State Assemblyman George Latimer (now State Senator) wrote a guest column on MyRye.com opposing the tunnel.
Where are these voices now? (We invite Latimer, Otis, Rye Mayor Sack and others to publish their opinions on MyRye.com.)
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
Also find:
Polimeni's son tells LoHud tunnel is a good idea (shocker)
LoHud on tunnel history (published day after original reporting).
LoHud original report:
"Cuomo wants to study Long Island to Westchester tunnel
ALBANY — A tunnel connecting Long Island to Westchester?
Cuomo on Tuesday said he wants to spend $5 million on a state study that would look at whether a tunnel from Long Island to either Westchester County, the Bronx or Connecticut is financially and practically feasible, saying it has the potential to allow commuters from the island to bypass Manhattan.
“I want to do a really thorough feasibility study,” Cuomo said at an event on Long Island. “I think we can build a tunnel from Long Island to either the Bronx, Westchester or Connecticut. It will shave hours and hours from a commutation standpoint.”
The idea of a span across the Long Island Sound has lingered for decades, dating back to the days of Robert Moses and then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in the 1960s. An array of proposals have never gotten off the ground.
Cuomo laid out the latest plan for a study as part of a series of proposals aimed at Long Island, which he announced at a event hosted by the Long Island Association, a business group.
When questioned by a reporter about whether a tunnel is a “pipe dream,” Cuomo said the state has to “think bold.”"
This is and always has been a terrible idea, poorly thought out and a disaster to the shore communities on either side of the Sound, not to mention that it would add thousands of cars to already overburdened I-287, I-95 and to the Long Island Expressway. Our elected officials from US Senator to local should come out strongly against this. Connecticut officials should also come out against this as it will impact the I 95 corridor which is already one big traffic jam.
Bravo to George Latimer for coming out strongly against this absurd plan. Hope other elected officials will follow suit. And, as for people on LI supporting this, it depends on who you talk to. Most people I know along the full length of the North Shore are dead set against this plan. In short, the people who are against this plan do vote. Former Governor Rockefeller learned this when he initially came out in favor of a bridge from Westchester to Long Island. He had to withdraw support because of fears of losing Republican seats in the legislature if he supported it.