If you ’re a New Yorker who struggles to import the name of theVerrazano - Narrows Bridge , rest ensure : you ’re not the only one . Opened to the world in 1964 , the nosepiece — which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn — is name for 16th century Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano , who discovered New York Harborin 1524 . However , while baptize the flyover , officials unexpectedly omitted a “ z ” from its name . That ’s right : the populace has been misspelling the overpass ’ moniker for years .
Nobody knows quite how the mistake was made ( some say it was a literal ) , but it ’s never been redress . That ’s why Robert Nash , a 21 - year - old college student from Brooklyn , recently launched a orison to desexualise the misspelling , CBS News reports .
Sadly , it currently look like Nash ’s pursuance might be a bridge to nowhere . Officials who control the overpass say it would just be too expensive to exchange the augury , booklet , mathematical function , and websites . After all , the Associated Press writes , it be New York $ 4 million to change the name of New York ’s Triborough Bridge to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge in 2008 . Still , Nash — whose petition has gained 187 signatures ( at the time of writing)—says that overlooking the mistake is disdainful to Italians - Americans , who have been “ oppress , discredited , stereotyped , and discriminated against . ” The petition continues :
John LaCorte , founder of the New York - based Italian Historical Society of America , fought to have the Verrazano Bridge named after the famed Italian explorer in 1964 . However , it’sbeen reportedthat New York urban deviser Robert Moses originally wanted to name the bridge after the of late assassinated President John F. Kennedy . He reportedly call up that the name " Verrazzano " was too hard to write , and that the explorer was n’t historically important enough to warrant the accolade .
[ h / tCBS News ]
