Irony in RFK Bridge Naming

There's been many opinions tossed around regarding the name change of the Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy bridge, but like it or not it's all goin' down on November 19th. NYMag notes that there's a bit of irony surrounding the change, however, saying "there’s no reason to think Kennedy, an environmentalist before his time, would have wanted his name associated with the notorious bottleneck site." Columbia University's Kenneth T. Jackson says, "with the MTA facing a billion-dollar deficit, I think Bobby Kennedy would be calling for us to find ways to save the planet and run more buses and subways rather than spend money to change signage." Maybe that's all just more opinion, but he goes on to say that RFK "believed, appropriately, that cars didn’t belong in New York." Even RFK, Jr. agrees that there's some irony surrounding the naming, but says his father would have appreciated the honor nonetheless. The $4 million honor.

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By Jen Carlson in News on November 14, 2008 4:10 PM

Comments [rss]

chubbyemu

I can't believe the term 'carpetbagger' is still around.

Think2wice

Triborough now, Triborough tomorrow, Triborough forever.

Pull My Finger

And I still call 6th ave 6th ave not AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS.

rcltrh

Lets spend some more millions renaming other things so they can hike our MTA cards even more. Maybe if we lay off even more state people we can waste even more money on projects like this one. It's good we have our priorities in order before we demand tax and toll increases to pay for them.

NannyState

^ Holy shit! I just agreed with HUGO MEGO.

HUGO_MEGO

It will always be the Triborough Bridge no matter what they name it.

NannyState

It's $4 million, not $4 trillion. Find another way to save the planet.

doppelganger

"I’m sorry it took so long, but the Cheney Expressway was backed up all the way to Halliburton Road."

burgeon

Everyone just stop it. Everyone know that the The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways is the best way to get from commune to commune in this country.

MrManhattan

...Well said Ides. I can't stick around and bask in your awesomeness I have to fly into Reagan National Airport on my way to the George HW Bush CIA headquarters...

...#6: Are you flying to Reagan National from Ted Stevens Anchorage International by any chance?...

...#6, don't forget your quick dash off to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston afterwards...

And if you have to "wash your hands", be sure to stop off at the "Larry Craig Bathroom" in the Minneapolis Airport!

(this is fun!)

ides_of_march

#6 "I have to fly into Reagan National Airport on my way to the George HW Bush CIA headquarters."

Congratulations.

EastRiver

RFK was a cool guy

Maybe but he was also a carpetbagger Senator using New York as a stepping stone to other personal ambitions. In 40 years are we going to have to name something after Hillary Clinton? And why do we have more crap named after Kennedy than Boston does?

holyfrijole

People still call the Jackie Robinson the Interboro... change all the $4 mil signage you want, NYers are set in their ways.

Steven

Politicians really know how to waste money. When they need the money it's time to cry the blues to the public.

Judge Smails

#6, don't forget your quick dash off to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston afterwards.

This is ridiculous timing, tho. They want to raise tolls and public transit a gazillion percent and as much as RFK was a cool guy, the thought of charging the financially-battered public more now to pay for $4M worth of renaming signs truly makes me nauseous.

The NYT piece hints that signage won't be done soon because of the economic crisis... This is good. Hopefully saner minds will prevail.

ides_of_march

Is there a special EZ Crash lane for drunken senators to drive through with their dates?

longacre

#6: Are you flying to Reagan National from Ted Stevens Anchorage International by any chance?

TooTallJeff

Well said Ides. I can't stick around and bask in your awesomeness I have to fly into Reagan National Airport on my way to the George HW Bush CIA headquarters.

ides_of_march

We already have JFK airport. That's enough major infrastructure named for one family.

Democrats are good at two things: raising taxes and naming things after other democrats.

Pull My Finger

I will never call it the RFK bridge.

whitecastlerock

@longacre that was a good one...

Toby von Meistersinger

Why the hell didn't Patterson stop this wasteful renaming? It really shows how out of touch politicians are with little things like reality.