NY1
Updated 12:44 PM
Triborough Bridge Becomes Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
The Triborough Bridge, which connects, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, was officially renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge today.
A ceremony was held in Queens's Astoria Park, a day before what would have been the assassinated New York senator's 83rd birthday.
Former President Bill Clinton, Governor David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and members of the Kennedy family attended the ceremony.
“In his book, ‘The Power Broker,’ Robert Caro noted that the Triboro is not really a bridge at all but four bridges, which link together three boroughs and two islands,” said Bloomberg. “And building it, Caro said, was a feat equal to tying together two or three cities. So I think it’s only fitting that the name on such an incredible bridge reflect both the grandeur of its scale and the significance of its purpose.”
Earl Graves, founder of Black Enterprise Magazine and a former aide to Bobby Kennedy, also attended and said the renaming is happening at an appropriate time in history, when the late senator's vision is coming true.
"I would go with him around the city or around the state and he was always reaching out to young people and he was reaching out for new ideas," said Graves. "He was reaching out for those who were less fortunate to see how he could make things better for them."
"I think if he had lived, he would have been president," continued Graves.
"I think we were well on the way to that happening. He would think it's very appropriate because he said 40 years ago that he did see an African-American one day would be president. And today that has come to fruition."
After the ceremony, dignitaries toured the bridge span in vintage cars.
The bridge was officially opened in 1936, and 10-year-old
Anthony Dominick Benedetto, who later became singer Tony Bennett, sang at the dedication.
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