The Columbia Waterfront Association mentioned last week that a primary concern for the land use committee this fall will be the fate of the one-mile stretch of the BQE, known as The Ditch, that separates the Columbia Waterfront from Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. The Brooklyn Paper reported in 2008 that Representative Nydia Velazquez (DGowanus) had obtained $300,000 in public funds for a study to explore possible solutions. Ideas being thrown around at the time included the mayor’s call for housing decks above the highway, or parks and pedestrian bridges. The Paper reported again last June that the Economic Development Corporation had much less ambitious concepts for The Ditch: planted buffers, new street furniture, sidewalk repairs, and other primarily aesthetic improvements. What would you like to see?
Fix the Ditch [Columbia Waterfront Association]
Locals Want BQE Cover-up [Brooklyn Paper]
City Plan for BQE: Less Clean, Less Green [Brooklyn Paper]
Image of early proposal by dlandstudio