Nabeguy ponders the "whatifs" of BQE reconstruction
Wednesday night’s BQE EIS Stakeholder’s Advisory Committee (SAC) meeting at St. Francis College put many North Heights and Willowtown residents at ease as two scenarios that would have destroyed their homes were ruled out. The declaration, made by NYSDOT Planning and Program Manager Peter King, came 35 minutes into the meeting which was well attended by members of the general public in addition to members of the SAC.
Brooklyn Heights residents in attendance broke out into reserved applause when King made the announcement. Many had feared the loss of their homes or a steep decline in property value after reports from the group’s May 26th meeting outlined a “Standard Alternative” scenario calling for the demolition of buildings in Willowtown and the North Heights. Those plans, renamed “Design Speed Compliant” for Wednesday’s meeting, were dismissed by NYSDOT as “not viable”.
The process is still in its infancy – work is not expected to begin on any aspect of the project until 2018.
