(Thursday, June 28th, 2012)
Ed Koch has a bridge named after him, so why not David Dinkins?
That’s the question City Councilman Fernando Cabrera will ask Thursday when he introduces a bill to rename the Willis Avenue Bridge after New York’s first and only African-American mayor.
“David Dinkins was a political pioneer,” said Cabrera (D-Bronx). “Nobody knows who Willis was. But Dinkins was the mayor who turned the city around.”
The Council renamed the Queensboro Bridge after former Mayor Koch last March despite gripes from some Queens pols opposed to the change. Dinkins ousted Koch in 1989.
Cabrera said the Koch renaming “was an impetus” for his bill. The Bronx councilman met Dinkins for the first time recently when he asked for the legendary Harlem pol’s blessing.
“He was honored,”Cabrera said of the potential renaming. “He was happy about it.”
The Willis Avenue Bridge spans the Harlem River from the South Bronx to East Harlem.
It opened in 1901 and 70,000 vehicles cross the toll-free bridge every day.
(Source: YWN | NY Daily News)
Comments:
akuperma says: | June 28, 2012 at 9:07 am
Dinkins deserves much credit. It took real ability, in New York City, to make it possible for the city to spend the 20 years with a Republican mayor. No mere fool could have accomplished that.
shimon11210 says: | June 28, 2012 at 9:39 am
“…But Dinkins was the mayor who turned the city around.”—–YUP! He sure turned it around! He turned it around so much in 4 years that we needed Guiliani for 8 years afterward to straighten out the mess! We should not be naming things after politicians we wish to forget about.
HaLeiVi says: | June 28, 2012 at 9:54 am
Ha! Boy did he turn the city around
mavenschoice says: | June 28, 2012 at 12:38 pm
The most appropriate bridge to name after him is that infamous bridge to “nowhere”.
manishma says: | June 28, 2012 at 1:00 pm
“…But Dinkins was the mayor who turned the city around.” I think the article should read “…But Dinkins was the mayor who turned the city upside down.”—–
galicianer says: | June 28, 2012 at 2:32 pm
The most appropriate thing to do would be to name the OLD, replaced, Willis Avenue Bridge after him.
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