BQE Proposal: Hey BHA, Time to Do Some Shouting

By on June 15, 2010 10:49 am in Landmark Preservation

“[We have] been too dignified and respectable. Let us now get up and do some shouting.”

– Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis at the first BHA meeting 100 years ago

In response to BHA President Jane McGroarty’s comments regarding the NYSDOT’s “fully compliant” BQE rehab project scenario – which in following Federal guidelines would need to take homes in the North Heights  and around Pier 6 :

Kerfuffle ? Technology? Design process?  NYSDOT a victim?

Really. Welcome to the NFL, Ms. McGroarty.  If someone’s gonna hit Brooklyn Heights hard, we gotta hit back.  This ain’t hitting back:

We do not believe that NYSDOT would seriously consider a solution that would take private property but we also understand that as part of any initial design process, engineers examine many alternatives in order to learn about the constraints, complexities and opportunities in each potential solution.

For the record, I believe that Ms. McGroarty’s statement is on point regarding the reality of this process. Her response is what I’d expect to see in a corporate email chain during  the early stages of a project.  Yes, it’s unlikely that homes will be taken for this project.  Yes, freaking out now is probably a waste of time.

Unlikely. Probably.  I’d rather have – Absolutely. Positively. Definitely.  Wouldn’t you?

And isn’t that what the BHA is here for as opposed to schooling the public on design process, shouldn’t they be laying down the battlelines?

Right now the BHA or another group representing the neighborhood needs to stand up and “do some shouting” now about this proposal.  Yes, we understand that it’s more red herring than anything else.  However,  taking a stand now would just hammer home the folly of this proposal.  If it were “just” an example of what compliance would look like then NYSDOT should plainly state that on ALL MATERIALS related to the example.

BHA — This is not the time to shush those who fear that their homes will be taken.   This is not the time for us to  “sit down and shut up”.  This is the time to ACT.  To SHOUT.  To be our VOICE.

In the spirit of Chesney, Pearsall, Schneider, Hooker, Reid and the other CCIC members who needed to do the “shouting” the last time this area was threatened,  we urge you to take a  firm stand against this “concept” now. Publicly.

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  • EHinBH

    Why don’t you call the local news? Seems like a good story for them to cover.

  • CharlieS

    It was mentioned on NY1 this morning.

  • ABC

    I found her statement to be the height of diplomacy saying, in effect, “yes, let’s have an open and honest dialogue about how to solve this situation (without impacting our homes).”

    I dont think coming out of the gate SHOUTING gets you anywhere.

    I strong encourage people to pay up their BHA dues. We need to get in front of the fundraising… Did you pay up Homer?

  • Andrew Porter

    Get up out of your comfy couches, go to the window, throw it open, and shout, as loud as you can,

    “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!”

    Now, *that’s* Networking…

  • DrewBurch

    THE BHA has long treated “The Northern Heights” as second class citizens. Most of their dues come from the southern heights and that is where their loyalty lies. They were happy to sell us out on the park development, supporting plans that increased traffic and development in the northern part of the neighborhood. And as long as the BQE doesn’t effect their core constituency, they will keep their mouths shut.

  • David on Middagh

    OK, DrewBurch. I’m not sure I agree with you, but you’ve convinced me to put my little BHA membership check in the mail.

  • my2cents

    Did we just turn into Jesse Jackson’s Operation Push here?
    Gimme an f-in break! This is not a time for shouting at all. Maybe the BHA isn’t shouting because they actually know what is going on. It’s time to shout if and when they actually propose this scheme. If you shout now, all you are doing is proving that the public can’t handle transparency in government because they get rattled from every little hypothetical.