Millman Joins the BQE Fray

By on June 16, 2010 12:22 pm in Government, Landmark Preservation, Legal, Real Estate, Transportation

jsw_joan_millmanState Assembly Member Joan Millman, whose district includes Brooklyn Heights, today announced her opposition to any realignment or expansion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that would necessitate taking any private property “in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, the Columbia Waterfront District, DUMBO, Fulton Ferry Landing, Vinegar Hill or Willowtown.” She said:

I recognize that New York State DOT’s rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, which includes the stretch of the roadway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, is long overdue. This portion of the roadway was not designed for the current volume of traffic and does not meet federal highway safety standards. However, I strongly oppose any realignment scenario that would result in the demolition or seizure of private property.

She said she is “confident that the New York State DOT can and will work with community stakeholders effectively to identify a reconstruction plan that will not endanger any home or business in the neighborhood.”

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  • RJ

    It figures she’s a day late …

  • martinlbrooklyn

    Thanks to Joan Millman for an early and clear response to the highway threat against the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. The engineers will just have to think outside the box. They did it before when they “discovered” that they could run the BQE around the Heights instead of through it on Hicks Street. Give them time; they’ll think of something, just as they have in countless instances around the state and the country.

  • nabeguy

    martin, I respect the depth of your historical perspective on this issue, but the engineers didn’t “discover” anything. The BHA and community simply forced them to come up with a an alternative plan that, in the end, was more expensive in real dollars, but cheaper in terms of political capital. Unfortunately, north Heights residents lost the same battle when it came to the Cadman Plaza project, thus resulting in the architecturally incongruous towers on Henry Street.

  • http://deleted Anon

    You guys are totally wet. The BHA has done nothing but serve the special interests of a narrow group of folks living on the Promenade. Their ox will not be gored. Sure the BHA figured out how to screw its neighbors in 1950 to make sure the central heights didn’t see the wrecking ball the way the south and north heights did. Tough luck for the North Heights now. They will see the side of the BHA that the south Heights has seen for 6 years on Brooklyn Bridge Park (BHA accuses people on Joralemon Street of being racist – how is that for turning the BHA’s issue on to another group? Brilliant!). Don’t put your trust in the BHA if your house is under attack and you don’t live on Columbia Heights. And don’t get me started on Millman – unless of course you are in need of a flu shot…she is the go-to gal on that one.

  • http://www.alternet.org Sheeple Waker

    Look for Doug Biviano to unseat Millman in due time.

  • my2cents

    I’m not waiting for the BHA to save us. If the DOT actually had the audacity to try to tear down some houses here, I think it is safe to say that everyone in the North Heights, myself included will form a human chain in front of the bulldozers, and make sure the national media hears out cry. I am not kidding. I don’t think there is a single person here who would tolerate that solution. But I seriously doubt the DOT will actually do that. The cost of buying the property and fighting the legal battles is just not worth it, and no politician will back them, except maybe some upstate Republican.

  • http://bivforbrooklyn.com Doug Biviano

    I will be part of the human chain — front line and center with the bulldozer — for all of Brooklyn Heights and the 52nd District should it ever come to that (i.e., I don’t believe it will). I think the one thing everyone knows about me for sure is that I will fight for my friends and neighbors.

    But in the meantime as an Assembly member, I would roll up my sleeves, work tirelessly and lose a lot of sleep until an alternative plan is ironed out that satisfies all neighborhoods in the district but also achieves greater safety standards for motorists.

  • AEB

    Doug, you wouldn’t by any chance be a politician, would you?

    I don’t know–something about the self-presentation….