Some Good And Some Bad News About The BQE Reconstruction Project

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Robert Moses' Brooklyn Queens Expressway Cantilever Roadway

in Brooklyn Heights, 

Early 1950's

Last week, Roy Sloane, the president of the Cobble Hill Association, attended a meeting with Peter King, the New York State Department Of Transportation's Project Manager, regarding the reconstruction of the B.Q.E.

He was kind enough to send me his summary of the meeting. I am printing it below with his permission. Though, as he says, there is some good news (the project has been expanded), there is also some real concern. The project has the potential of tremendously impacting our entire area. Read on:

I want to update you on the latest news on the BQE Rehabilitation Project.

First the good news:

1) At this evening's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting, Peter King, NYS DOT Project Manager announced his agency's intention to expand the project area south to Hamilton Avenue-- subject to the concurrence of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This means that the BQE Rehabilitation will be expanded to include all Atlantic Avenue entrances and exits and the BQE "ditch".

2) Expansion of the project area also means that the primary study area will be expanded south at least as far as Hamilton Avenue and will certainly include all of the neighborhoods west of the Gowanus Canal. It still remains to be determined exactly how far east the primary study area will include-- so this remains an important open issue, My personal opinion is that the primary study area should probably extend all the way to Prospect Park, but must be extended at a minimum to Fourth Avenue.

The final announcement on the southern extension of the project area will be made at the Stakeholder's Advisory Group (SAC) meeting that will be held on December 2nd at St. Francis College. I will forward the official announcement of this meeting to you all, so that you can be sure to attend.

Now the less than good news:

While a relatively low impact no build" scenario is still being considered as an option, the discussion among the TAC members -- almost all of whom are government agency officials -- confirms that the BQE Triple Cantilever Roadway Reconstruction Project has the potential to be an infrastructure reconstruction project of truly unprecedented scale and extent. It is not unreasonable to anticipate that our entire area could be profoundly impacted for the years required to complete the rehabilitation.

It is important to know that Peter King and his team are also considering an equally ambitious set of options to mitigate this impact including tolling strategies, a temporary outboard highway over the water and even more permanent solutions such as tunneling underneath downtown Brooklyn. You can learn more about the project and the planning effort at:

www.nysdot.gov/bqedowntownbrooklyn

Given the enormity of the potential impact on our neighborhoods south of Atlantic Avenue, it is imperative that the organizations that we all represent become actively involved in these early stage planning efforts. We must insist that the potential impacts of any maintenance of traffic plans be thoroughly studied to protect our historic neighborhoods located south of Atlantic Avenue.

Roy Sloane