Although preliminary, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent interest in revisiting the potential for a new crossing between Long Island and Westchester County has already elicited concern.
During his State of the City address on Jan. 13, Rye Mayor Joseph Sack, a Republican, took a strong stance against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent proposal to potentially connect Long Island to Westchester County via a tunnel.
“The governor should know that we will vigorously oppose any bridge or tunnel that interferes with the home and environment of our city,” Sack said in his address. “And we pledge to support other Sound Shore communities in their opposition to any bridge or tunnel that runs through their towns.”
In a speech to the Long Island Association on Jan. 5, Cuomo, as part of his 2016 agenda, stated that he wanted to spend $5 million on a feasibility study to see if a tunnel can be built underneath the Long Island Sound, connecting the island to Westchester, Connecticut or the Bronx. Cuomo said the effort was to further meet what he called the “unique transportation needs on Long Island.”
“We need to consider ambitious access proposals,” the governor said. “Now this is not a new idea, we’ve been talking about this for 75 years. In 1938, FDR talked about building a bridge from Long Island to Connecticut or Rhode Island, understanding the physical constraints [on Long Island].”
Since 1938, there have been at least seven other proposals for a bridge or tunnel between Long Island and Westchester or Connecticut, including New York builder, Robert Moses’ controversial plan for a bridge connecting the town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County to the city of Rye, which was halted in large part due to the efforts of one former Rye mayor, the late Ed Grainger, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Sack lauded Grainger’s legacy during his annual address, and stressed that continued opposition to a link between Long Island and Rye is crucial.
“Just as the bumper stickers from decades ago implored the governor to ‘Ban the Bridge,’ the rallying cry today from the city of Rye’s perspective must be to ‘Topple the Tunnel,’” Sack said.
Most recently, in 2008, came another $10 billion proposal by a commercial developer on Long Island named Vincent Polimeni that would have connected the island to Westchester by way of a tunnel. But the plan lacked support in Westchester and by lawmakers in Albany, and like the other proposals before it, ultimately never got off the ground. Polimeni passed away in 2013.
Despite a lack of success with other Soundlink proposals, Sack said that Cuomo’s push to invest $5 million in a feasibility study indicates “serious intentions.” However, he also stated during his city address that he is confident that state Assemblyman Steve Otis, a Rye Democrat, and state Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat, will fight for Rye’s best interests in this matter.
Otis had serious reservations about a tunnel in 2008 when he was the mayor of Rye.
“When I led the opposition to a tunnel proposal10 years ago, it was countywide opposition because of [potential] traffic levels on the entire length of both the I-287 and I-95,” Otis said.
Latimer also opposed the tunnel idea in 2008 and shared similar concerns about congestion on Westchester’s highways. He believes that the tunnel would be problematic for traffic on I-95.
“Port Chester is looking at developing a hospital near I-95, so you could create a traffic nightmare in Rye,” he said.
Latimer also raised other potential issues with revisiting this idea, saying that the prolonged construction would have “a great chilling effect on the real estate market” and would cause a significant environmental impact.
Since the proposal is currently nonspecific, Rye is not the only location viewed as a possible connecting point to Long Island. As a result of the potential for other Sound Shore communities to be identified, Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, said he shares Sack’s concerns.
“I would certainly fight against something that would affect the quality of life in and character of our shore towns,” Rosenblum said.
The state Legislature would need to approve the $5 million Cuomo wants to spend—the item is included in his state budget proposal for 2016-2017—on a feasibility study.
It seems that on Long Island, local officials were already pushing for this. In Suffolk County, a master plan was released by the department of economic development and planning in August that listed examining “feasibility for alternate means of ingress and egress” between Long Island and the New York metropolitan area as a priority action for the county.
The state Legislature began its annual session on Jan. 13, where they will discuss the feasibility study, among other ideas outlined by Cuomo in his budget.
In spite of his objection to the idea, Otis is open to the study, and is confident that it will come to the same conclusion reached in 2008.
“I think at the end of the day, everyone will understand that to bring more traffic to that area will be a countywide problem,” Otis said.
Sack said he wants to be sure that if a feasibility study were conducted by the state, it’s completed without bias to Cuomo’s desire to see the tunnel built.
“If indeed the governor does fund this study, we’re going to want to take an active role in participating or monitoring how the study is being conducted,” Sack said. “I don’t think any legitimate study would indicate that a tunnel or bridge would be a good idea.”
“Beyond that, we’re going to put as much political pressure as we can to prevent this,” the mayor added.
