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Rep. Mike Lawler's push to rename the Tappan Zee bridge attacks the wrong Gov. Cuomo
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Aug 27, 2024
Modified Aug 27, 2024
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Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Getty
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Aug 27, 2024
Modified Aug 27, 2024
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New York Rep. Mike Lawler is selling branded merch to raise money for his re-election campaign for a competitive Hudson Valley congressional seat, but the T-shirts and mugs aren’t all about him.
The first-term Republican is hawking hoodies, beer koozies and other items that take aim at the current name of the 3-mile bridge spanning the Hudson River from Rockland to Westchester counties. The items feature an image of a bridge in a circle with the words “No Cuomo!” across the top and “Bring back the Tappan Zee” along the bottom. They also bear a striking resemblance to the logo for the Golden State Warriors basketball team.
In 2017, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo renamed the bridge — formerly known as the Tappan Zee — for his late father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo. Lawler on Sunday urged people on X and Facebook to buy his branded wares on the anniversary of the younger Cuomo’s official resignation from office, which came after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct and a toxic work environment.
“Three years ago today, former Governor Cuomo resigned in disgrace. Yet his name is still on the Tappan Zee Bridge! We must rename the bridge - get your No Cuomo merch today!” Lawler wrote, inaccurately implying that the bridge is named after Andrew Cuomo.
Lawler surely knows the bridge is named for the state’s 52nd governor, not his son. As a state assemblymember, Lawler introduced a bill to rename it the Tappan Zee Bridge. But bridge naming is a state, not a federal issue, and as a congressmember Lawler currently has no authority over the bridge’s title.
His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lawler is running for re-election in a competitive swing district against Democrat Mondaire Jones, a former congressmember who represented the district for one term ending in 2023.
In a statement, Jones criticized Lawler for trying to raise money off a name that neither of them would be able to control if elected to Congress.
“The fact that Congressman Lawler feels the need to fundraise off of a name change he would have nothing to do with — which he also incorrectly referenced as being named after Gov. Andrew Cuomo instead of Gov. Mario Cuomo — speaks to his failure to accomplish anything else to run on during his brief, chaotic time in the MAGA Republican majority,” Jones said.
Jones also touted his own fundraising haul, which currently outpaces Lawler’s. As of the June 30 filing with the Federal Election Commission, Jones' campaign had $4.3 million in cash on hand, compared to Lawler’s $3.9 million.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Andrew Cuomo, told Gothamist in a statement that, “We got used to this type of grifty sub-MAGA used carmanship when he ran Rob Astorino’s doomed campaign for governor against Governor Cuomo, but it isn’t going to help lower a single grocery or tax bill in the Hudson Valley. At least he seems to have given up on trying to convince people he’s some sort of serious bipartisan legislator, so points for that I guess.”
“Also the governor has always denied the accusations against him,” Azzopardi added.
Lawler's campaign has been selling the bridge-branded merch since the spring, as reported by LoHud.
At a press conference at the state Capitol in March 2022, Lawler said the bridge’s name — which he called the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge — continues to be “one of the most important issues in my community.”
It also appears to be an important local talking point for Jones.
"As someone born and raised in Rockland, this will always be the Tappan Zee to me,” he said.
Update: This story has been updated to include a statement Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi sent after publication.
Tagged
new york state
andrew cuomo
tappan zee
Congress
Politics
transportation
Mondaire Jones
Brigid Bergin
Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.
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