Relates to changing the name of the walkway over the Hudson bridge to the Eleanor Roosevelt Walkway

BILL NUMBER:S6011

Title of bill

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to changing the name of the walkway over the Hudson bridge to the Eleanor Roosevelt Walkway

Purpose or general idea of bill

To name the walkway over the Hudson bridge "Eleanor Roosevelt Walkway, meaning the Poughkeepsie-Highland railroad bridge which was constructed across the Hudson river north of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson bridge.

Summary of specific provisions

There are over 2,000 bridges, walkways and tunnels in New York State, all of which bear the names of men. The history of New York State, however, is marked by remarkable women who were groundbreakers, the first to accomplish a specific policy, social or electoral goal. These women are known for having contributed to civil and human rights, suffrage, social conditions, and the political landscape. Among them have been Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organizers of the Seneca Falls Convention; Susan B. Anthony social reformer, feminist and antislavery advocate; Bessie Buchanan the first African-American woman elected to the NYS Assembly; abolitionist, Union spy, and successful underground railroad facilitator Auburn resident Harriet Tubman; abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth; and many others including sculptors, writers, entertainers. There are no bridges, highways, walkways or tunnels named after women.

Justification

Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest serving First Lady, was a dynamic, innovative and influential figure during her husband's tenure as President and long after his passing. She was a champion for civil rights engaging black leaders Mary McLeod Bethune and Walter Francis White as she moved to oppose the poll tax, supporting the Southern Tenant Farmer's Union (open to all races) to improve working conditions and a more equitable distribution of farmers' profits under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and pursued the inclusion of blacks included in government programs. Her advocacy for safe and sanitary housing resulted in the clearance of slums and the creation of planned communities known as "greenbelts." Eleanor Roosevelt's interest in the arts served to create the Federal Arts Project. While providing employment for diverse artists who would become part of the American artscape for generations to come such as Marsden Hartley, Romare Bearden, Louise Nevelson, and Jackson Pollock, the Project served to document the pathos of the Great Depression through the lens of Gordon Parks, Berenice Abbot, Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange.

Ultimately, Eleanor Roosevelt served as the emissary who walked across America and served as the President's eyes and ears as to the national condition. It is appropriate that a walkway in proximity to their Hyde Park home be named in recognition of this inimitable New York woman.

Prior legislative history

New bill.

Effective date

One hundred eighty days.