State spikes mass transit, OKs plan Tappan Zee car span
The state on Monday killed plans for rail service and fixed bus lanes over a new Tappan Zee Bridge, dooming Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties to countless generations of auto-dependence.
Under intense pressure by construction unions to get the $5.4 million project under way, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council voted as expected, unanimously approving replacement of the decrepit mid-Hudson River span.
The county executives of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam, who all sit on the board, last week crushed the hopes of mass transit when declaring that they would fall in line and vote in favor of the project. They did not attend Monday’s meeting, however, but sent representatives to vote on their behalf.
Each of the three in effect held veto power because the council must approve a project unanimously to qualify it for federal funds.