Locals Push City to Scrap Plans to Rebuild Crumbling BQE

by Barbara Russo-Lennon, amNY

A group of local environmental and neighborhood organizations wants to end the city’s proposed plans to overhaul and “potentially expand” the aging Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE).

In a letter sent on May 28 to Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, and state and city transportation leaders, the BQE Environmental Justice Coalition urged the officials to scrap the NYC Department of Transportation’s (DOT) design plans that would essentially rebuild the heavily used thoroughfare.

“We are urging you to halt NYC DOT’s proposed multi-billion-dollar project to rebuild and potentially expand the BQE’s triple cantilever, a project that would embed this malignant roadway in our communities for generations to come,” the letter stated.

Lara Birnback, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, is one of the authors of the letter. She told amNewYork that it was important to send the letter before official environmental reviews of the proposed project begin.

“We know DOT has been preparing for that for a while, but we wanted to make sure as a coalition we were on the record voicing our concerns over the plans we’ve seen put forward so far by the DOT,” Birnback explained.

Other authors of the letter include members from the organizations El Puente, Uprose, the Red Hook Initiative, Woodside on the Move, Open Plans, Riders Alliance and the Cobble Hill Association.

One of NYC DOT’s plans includes a full-scale rebuild of the BQE’s crumbling triple cantilever section, also known as “BQE central,” a 1.5-mile stretch between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street in Brooklyn Heights.

DOT’s proposals include capping sections of the BQE trenches in a handful of neighborhoods. But the 1.5-mile BQE central is the only section of the expressway owned by the city, and has its own separate plan.

One idea would be a “stacked” approach, similar to the current three-tier design of the triple cantilever but with fewer traffic lanes “jutting out.”

Birnback explained that she, along with other group members who signed the letter, is more in favor of structural repairs, rather than a complete rebuild of the corridor.

“The plans from DOT would put us on the hook for spending billions of dollars to maintain the status quo of the BQE as an incredibly polluting, climate-destroying, economically disadvantaging roadway through the boroughs,” she said. “We feel that it’s the wrong approach in this moment of time to double down on the infrastructure mistakes of the past.”

NYC DOT said in a statement to amNewYork that environmental reviews are upcoming.

“NYC DOT is preparing with its state and federal partners to enter environmental review and will be soliciting feedback through this process on a range of alternatives for a long-term solution for the city-owned section of the BQE,” the statement read. “As part of this federally mandated environmental process, the public will have the opportunity to submit ideas and feedback for the next phase of BQE Central.”

Meanwhile, Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director for the Riders Alliance, said the state should use the opportunity to improve bus service in Brooklyn. He has been a vocal proponent for faster and more reliable bus service along the borough’s Flatbush Avenue.

“Widening highways is dead-end public policy,” he said. “Governor Hochul should take the opportunity presented by the failing BQE to improve bus service and reconnect the Brooklyn neighborhoods divided by Robert Moses.”

As of Monday morning, the authors of the group letter had not received a response from city or state officials.

Editor’s note: A version of this story originally ran in amNY. Click here to see the original story.

Related Stories

• DOT Renderings Picture Transformed BQE Trenches and Viaducts
• Taking Up Locals’ Pleas, DOT Mulls Capping BQE to Connect Communities
• Sweeping Overhaul of Crumbling BQE Likely Delayed Until 2028

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