Dinky mistake
AN ERROR on an official city website has done what the City Council failed to do — name a bridge after former Mayor David Dinkins.
The Willis Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River has been mislabeled the “David Dinkins-Willis Avenue Bridge” on the website maps.nyc.gov — even though a bill calling for the name change died without ever making it to a vote.
“I’d be honored or flattered if they named a lamppost after me,” joked Dinkins, 86, when informed of the error Wednesday by the Daily News.
Councilman Fernando Cabrera (D-Bronx), the sponsor of the renaming bill, was surprised to learn of the gaffe.
The Dinkins fan introduced the bill in July 2012, but it sat in committee for more than a year. Cabrera said he did not pursue the bill because he decided Dinkins deserves a more majestic bridge than the 350-foot-long span linking Manhattan and the Bronx.
Cabrera said he now thinks the regal, 2,375-foot-long Washington Bridge — which also spans the Harlem River — is more befitting to bear the name of the city’s 106th mayor than the squat Willis Ave. swing bridge.
“Either we have more power in the Council than we thought or it’s a mistake,” quipped Cabrera’s chief of staff Greg Faulkner. “I’m really surprised.”
Faulkner added that a new bill will be drafted, “once the former mayor gives his approval.”
It’s unclear how long the mistake has been on the website, which provides city maps, updates about snow removal, 311 complaints and building information.
The site is updated twice a year, the city said.
Dinkins, the city’s first black mayor, served one term from 1990 to 1994.