Nassau Expressway overpass named for Pete Sobol

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The overpass connecting Seagirt Boulevard and the Nassau Expressway, also known as State Route 878, has been designated Peter V. Sobol Memorial Bridge as Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation into law on July 29.

Sobol, who died in February at 64, was a longtime Inwood businessman and Five Towns civic leader considered the unofficial mayor of Inwood, a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead. Sobol and others established the Inwood 5K and was a longtime board member of the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence and served as its executive director.  

“Peter Sobol dedicated every fiber of his being to bettering Inwood, the Five Towns and the lives of its residents,” State Sen Todd Kaminsky, a Democrat who represents the Five Towns, stated in a news release. “Renaming a bridge on Route 878 is a fitting tribute to Pete and his lifetime of service to the community. While he may have departed, his legacy will continue to live on for generations.”

The Community Center has played a vital role in offering programs and services to area residents that Sobol advocated for, including making the center a Covid-19 testing site, giving Gammy’s Pantry that offers free food, clothes and other items a home and after Hurricane Sandy transformed the building into a Red Cross shelter.

“It is an honor to be able to memorialize Pete in this way,” State Assemblywoman Melissa Miller (R-Atlantic Beach) said in the release. “Pete was the embodiment of everything that was good in the community. His life’s work was making things better for people. Pete worked tirelessly and selflessly everyday making sure that everyone had what they needed. Pete loved people. He loved his community. And now this bridge will be part of his legacy forever.”

The Community Center also became a Long Island Cares site and one of the venue’s where Nassau County’s Police Athletic League has revived a dormant program, also part of Sobol’s legacy.

“Peter Sobol was a longtime advocate for the Long Island communities in which he lived and worked, and his dedication to Superstorm Sandy relief, food insecurity and immigrant communities won’t be forgotten,” Cuomo stated in the release. “We’re proud to honor his memory by dedicating a bridge in the Village of Lawrence to him that will inspire others to follow in his footsteps of selfless community service.”