Heights Homes Could Be Taken in BQE Fix
It’s Robert Moses all over again! As it prepares for the reconstruction of the triple-cantilever portion of the BQE that below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the State Department of Transportation is considering taking some historic homes in the area by eminent domain and demolishing them, reports The Brooklyn Paper. While project manager Peter King calls…
It’s Robert Moses all over again! As it prepares for the reconstruction of the triple-cantilever portion of the BQE that below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the State Department of Transportation is considering taking some historic homes in the area by eminent domain and demolishing them, reports The Brooklyn Paper. While project manager Peter King calls the destruction option unlikely, it hasn’t been ruled out. It is well-established that the public sector has the authority to acquire properties for public purposes, he said. It would be premature to rule out anything, and a violation of process to start discounting things. The cantilevered highway was designed to last 50 years and is now approaching 70. Other voices urged not jumping the gun. We are talking about a 10-year process and we’re in year one,” Rob Perris, the district manager of Community Board 2. “It is conceivable that there could be alignments that result in property being taken, but from the standpoint of today that seems highly unlikely. If the prospect of eminent domain does emerge, expect an ugly fight from a powerful group of property owners. Robert Moses isn’t here now, and if a new Moses emerges, we have practice, said Judy Stanton, the executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association. We know what to do.
State Mulling Taking Heights Homes for BQE Repair [Brooklyn Paper]
“And knocking down a few $2-3 million brownstones is a small price to pay for saving 5-10 people ”
Just the sort of iditoic rationale that has led to our corrupted built environment. If the highway is unsafe at the speeds people are driving at, drop the speed limit or let ’em crash. There’s nothing that bad about the BQE that good driving habits can’t fix.
It is a matter of life and death.
If you’ve got 675 accidents on a 1 mile stretch of road, people are going to get killed.
Not to mention the huge costs in wasted labor from people who get stuck in lengthy traffic jams.
Let’s face it: The structure is obsolete. The entrance ramps at Atlantic require you to guess what traffic is in your lane through a blind curve and requires a merge within two or three seconds — totally unsafe.
And knocking down a few $2-3 million brownstones is a small price to pay for saving 5-10 people
Thank god for Judy Stanton! This can never be allowed to happen.
The Unites States Federal Government does not believe in easy fixes.
Pretty sure Squibb and Chapin aren’t in the historic district, and if they had to take a house (or that row of 60s townhouses along Poplar) in the district to complete the entire project, pretty sure they’d take that to court. And if the end result would be a buried BQE from dumbo through carroll gardens, they might have substantial support.
I’m 99.9% sure they’re not going to do this, but I never say never in this city
That Atlantic ave. on-ramp is hairy. You need a Porsche to safely get out before something comes round the bend.
The only Queens-bound hold ups on this dilapidated stretch come from cars queuing in the middle lane trying to get into the bridge exit lanes. It could be fixed with simple plastic dividers.
Ringo, I’m sure there are several regular posters on this blog who would love nothing more than to see half the Heights wiped out by the BQE. But the Heights is protected against this exact sort of thing by its National Register listing so I don’t think those posters should celebrate yet.
This stretch of the highway is antiquated. It does not conform to modern highway mandates including the lack of merge lanes at the Atlantic Avenue on-ramp, lack of safety barriers along the edges, and lack of noise barriers. They are going to have to figure out how much to do given the constraints.
“Yeah, because 2nd Ave is just like 5th Ave and Madison and Park Ave”
BoHill replied for me, CMU. I was thinking of Fifth, Madison and Park, from the 60s to the low 90s. I didn’t really have east of Park in mind.
The BQE is falling down here and needs to be replaced. I think it’s okay to present every option. You can’t not present things just because rich people live there. And, I hate to say it, but if they propose tearing down those Poplar St buildings and taking Squibb in order to BURY the BQE, I would not be automatically opposed.
Also, I’m glad I’m not trying to sell, say, the sweet little house next to Chapin. This is something real to have hanging over the head of a 2mm+ property.
Also, this is why neighbors should be thankful for Judy Stanton & Co.