U.S. # 1258 honors the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge – the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion. Bridging Staten Island and Brooklyn, it also links New England with the southeast section of the U.S. The bridge is named after Giovanni da Verrazano, an Italian explorer who discovered the New York Bay in 1524. Verrazano-Narrows Bridge Opens U.S. #1258 was issued on the day the bridge opened. On November 21, 1964, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge first opened to traffic. Since 1888, New Yorkers looked for an easier way to cross the Narrows, the tidal strait between the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. These earliest discussions called for a tunnel, but were scrapped when talk of a bridge arose. The bridge idea was then dropped and they returned to the idea of a tunnel. In fact, they began digging tunnels but ultimately abandoned those too. However, some of those tunnels still remain today. For decades, the debate continued on whether to build a bridge or finish the tunnels. Then, finally, in 1946 real progress was made by New York Parks Commissioner and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority head Robert Moses. He planned the bridge to complete an expressway system he’d built over several years.