Before the Tappan Zee Bridge, Rockland County was a rural NYC suburb. How the bridge transformed life in the county is the subject of a new 30 minute film and a book premiering on Tues 2/16 in Suffern.

“The Tappan Zee Bridge: Transforming Rockland County,” a 30 minute educational documentary, will be shown on Feb 16 at 12:30p at the Lafayette Theatre, Suffern, NY. Following the film, Roger Panetta’s new book, “The Tappan Zee Bridge and the Forging of the Rockland Suburb” will be introduced with a brief Q&A session with panelists who collaborated on the Tappan Zee Legacy Project.

The book and DVD were funded with a $150,000 Preserve America Grant Award from the National Park Service obtained by Rockland County and the Rockland County Historical Society.

These two new educational projects take a retrospective look at Rockland before and after the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge in 1955, resulting in a life-changing impact upon both Rockland County and the Hudson Valley Region. The Tappan Zee Bridge greatly enhanced interstate transportation, increased opportunities for economic growth, and allowed Rockland residents to become a thriving suburban county. It changed the formerly rural county forever.

Rockland County first became involved in the Preserve America Program in 2007, through a designation as a “Preserve America Community.”

Source: Red Orbit
Photo Credit: Evan Marchesini