It’s been decades since trolley cars rolled across Brooklyn and Queens streets, but the boroughs are growing in population along with the need for additional transit options. Now, one group is looking to bring back the streetcar in a more modern form.

Ya-Ting Liu, executive director of the Friends of Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX), calls the BQX a “transformative public transit project.”

The modern, state-of-the-art, above-ground streetcar line on the waterfront would run a 14-mile path between Astoria, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn and would service the 300,000 people who work and the 400,000 people who live along the corridor.

Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector, a nonprofit coalition consisting of transit experts and community and business leaders, was formed to advocate for and collaborate with the public on the project.

“Our goal is to build a coalition that is really reflective of the diversity of stakeholders on the corridor, and to make sure that all the stakeholders are actively participating in all of the planning discussions around the BQX streetcar,” Liu said.

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More than 100 institutions along the corridor have currently signed on to support the BQX, including the NYCHA Public Housing tenant associations, community groups, businesses, churches, hospitals, institutions of higher education, former MTA Chairs and transit advocates. Fifty businesses in north Brooklyn alone have declared their support for the project, Liu said.

“Businesses that have been very receptive really understand the power of what the streetcar could potentially do, in terms of bringing much more foot traffic and eyes onto their storefront,” she said.

The city’s role in making BQX a reality

The project was first introduced by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s during his 2016 “State of the City.” The city is currently undergoing a feasibility analysis on the project and will put out a report over the course of the next few months.

The city, which is taking the lead on the project, has engaged the community through various recent events. The NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) have worked with residents, including community boards and local organizations, to gauge concerns and hear their ideas on how to improve the project.

They also hosted a series of community visioning sessions for residents of Astoria, Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Red Hook, Sunset Park, where they presented the plans for the project and gathered ideas from local residents.

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Streetcars offer the practical approach

The Friends group has also engaged in a number of initiatives to gauge community input, Liu said. The group has reached out to local stakeholders, organized public information events and taken a door-to-door approach.

According to Liu, an aboveground streetcar is a cost-effective and high-capacity way of expanding the transportation system. A streetcar, as opposed a bus, can hold more passengers. A streetcar is also more accessible to those New Yorkers who have trouble getting around.

Seniors, to those in wheelchairs, to parents with strollers, and others who might not be able to walk long distances to subway or bus stops can easily board and exit the lower streetcar. And unlike a bus, a streetcar can be done by New York City alone, without going through the MTA.

Additionally, subway expansion is “incredibly cost prohibitive,” Liu continued, and construction would take a longer time. The waterfront topography also makes building an underground system a challenge, Liu said.

“In terms of this corridor being one of the fastest growing corridors in New York City, in terms of just the existing population and population projections, the streetcar as a mode is better able to handle the ridership projection along this corridor,” Liu said.

An EDC study found that daily ridership on the Brooklyn Queens Connector would be 48,900 by 2035. The streetcar would run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and, during peak rush hours, would have every-five-minute service. The city plans currently plans to break ground on the project in 2019 and launch service in 2024.

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Getting creative to make it work

According to Liu, the number one concern that arises from residents is how much it will cost them. The executive director said locals are relieved to hear that a ride on the streetcar would cost the same as a ride on an MTA bus or subway.

“And, as a Friends group, we are absolutely committed, and will advocate for, free transfer as well,” she continued.

To address traffic concerns, Liu said the city is currently committed to a dedicated right of way for the streetcar. The streetcar driver would travel primarily in dedicated lanes have traffic-signal priorities, using technology to communicate with traffic lights and systems.

As far as funding the project, the city is looking to implement value capture, or tax increment financing — a public financing method that is used to subsidize various community-improvement projects. The goal is that the project would be funded by increased tax revenue from businesses along the route.

“The idea is sort of leveraging a portion of the property value along the corridor to pay for this infrastructure investment,” Liu said.

Liu said the city employed this approach to the recent 7 Line extension at Hudson Yards.

“The demand for more transportation funding and investment is only growing,” Liu said. “But the availability of public fund at both the federal, state and local level is decreasing.”

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Addressing concerns amid “uncertain times”

Given the “uncertain times” around federal-level transit funding, cities must find creative and localized ways to finance imperative transportation upgrades, she continued.

“It’s important that cities start to innovate and think of other financing models in order to expand transit capacity,” Liu said. “This allows the city to eventually take control of its own transit destiny without having to rely on all of these other sources of funding, from the federal government or the state government.”

In April, an internal draft city memo surfaced that raised concerns  about the value capture approach being able to fund the project, primarily due to the water mains, sewer lines and power utilities work that would have to be done beneath the surface.

“The draft memo is an encouraging sign that the city is taking a vigorous approach to solving these challenges, including a more detailed accounting of the utilities that are under the route and creating engineering solutions to minimize impact and cost,” Liu said in a statement on the Friends website.

Liu continued to say that even the “most conservative analysis” shows that the value capture approach will pay for most of the project, and remains the most innovative way to bring new transit to New York City.

“As the city continues its work, we think making sure the benefits outweigh the costs is crucial to the success of the BQX and are confident the facts will bear that out,” Liu added.

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The new transit line Brooklyn and Queens need

The BQX would not compete with the existing modes of transportation, but, rather, enhance them, Liu continued. The light rail would be cost-comparable and connect to 10 ferry landings, 30 different bus routes, 15 different subway lines, 116 Citi Bike stations and 6 LIRR lines.

“When you look at the subway map, and you think of our existing subway system, it was built 112 years ago,” Liu said. “And it was established from a time when Manhattan was really considered the center of the universe … It’s 2017, and that is just not reflective of how New Yorkers today live, work, play and get around.”

With more people than ever working and living along the waterfront, and given the volume of emerging industries in the area, Liu continued, there is a need for more transportation options.

“All of this is happening and burgeoning along this waterfront corridor,” Liu said. “Yet, we cannot get between the two boroughs easily. And that just doesn’t make sense.”

Serving as the connective tissue between these two communities that are right next to one another, Liu said, residents will be able to commute between Brooklyn and Queens faster and more easily than before.

Liu invites residents who wish to learn more about the transit project to visit the Friends of BQX website at bqx.nyc.

“If you think about the history of New York City,and what it’s been built on: it’s built on public transportation,” Liu said. “And what BQX will do is allow more New Yorkers, across all spectrums of social and economic levels, to access affordable, reliable and faster rides and commutes on public transit … Transit is the lifeblood of New York City and, frankly, more is more is more.”


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