New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman proposes new bridge to Staten Island
With a little less than five weeks remaining in the race for New York governor, Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman is calling for a new bridge to Staten Island and Kathy Hochul is using the powers of incumbency to remind seniors to sign up for energy bill discounts.
When you look at the congestion on the Outerbridge Crossing or the Staten Island Expressway, it's easy to understand the frustration of Staten Island drivers. Which may be why Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, stood on a walkway over the expressway on Thursday to say he wants to do something about it.
He says if he's elected governor he's going to build a new Outerbridge Crossing modeled after the new Goethals Bridge, with three lanes in each direction instead of two, and extend the HOV lane along the entire length of the expressway in both directions.
He said he also plans to "do all the things that are necessary to make sure that the Staten Island Expressway is no longer the second-largest parking lot in the United States, next to the Long Island Expressway."
Some Staten Island residents say that can't happen soon enough.
"I feel like it has been terrible forever [and] never, ever, ever gotten any better," Christine Blessings said of the congestion.
"It is a mess," added resident Jack Elten. "I'm about to be 73 years old, so I was here when it was the country. It's not the country anymore. The biggest problem is the infrastructure was never updated to accommodate the amount of building and the amount of expansion."
However, trying to unseat Hochul is a tough slog, because the governor has all the powers of incumbency at her fingertips.
Hochul was in the Bronx on Thursday, urging seniors to sign up for her energy affordability program, which provides a monthly discount on utility bills.
"So what am I here to talk about? Putting more money back in your pockets. how does that sound?" Hochul said. "It seems like it's getting higher and higher, right?"
Recent polls have told different stories about this race, with one saying Blakeman is making inroads and another saying Hochul is comfortably in the lead.
According to the latest Siena Poll of likely New York voters, Hochul's lead over Blakeman is at 50-41%, a marginal decrease from her 49-39% lead in August.
However, the latest Quinnipiac Poll has Hochul holding a commanding 58-39% lead.