According to AMNY Mayor Adams and the city’s Department of Transportation want to reduce DOT’s budget for repair work on the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway this year from $225.1 million to $44.6 million, with the reduction of $180.5 million preserved for use in later years.
The AMNY story quotes City Council Member Lincoln Restler, whose district includes Brooklyn Heights, at the May 12 budget hearing for the DOT:
The dramatic reductions in funding by upwards of $180 million that should have been spent this year… is of grave concern and, frankly, is indicative of the lack of urgency the DOT is placing on making the necessary repairs at this location.
The Brooklyn Heights Association has also objected; Spectrum News ny1 quotes the BHA:
The idea that the city isn’t doing everything in its power to prevent a predictable catastrophe is reckless and unconscionable,” the association said in its statement. “We are almost halfway through 2022, and neighbors all along the Cantilever are reporting increased levels of rumblings, vibrations, and just a few weeks ago photos of falling debris from the underside of the structure were sent to DOT.
The BHA goes on to note: “Anyone who questions the disastrous impact of salt and water corrosion on concrete and rebar need only look to the Surfside [collapse] in Florida.”
Both the AMNY and ny1 stories quote DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez as saying there is “no issue related to safety” because of moving the budgeted funds to later years. AMNY reports, “The mayor’s press office declined to comment.”
