We have been advised by the NYC Department of Transportation that a single lane of the Queens bound portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from Atalantic Avenue to Sands Street will be closed from midnight to 5:00 AM starting today and continuing each night through Friday, May 10. The Queens bound entrance ramp from Atlantic Avenue to the BQE will also be closed during these times.

The New York City Department of Transportation has announced that the Queens bound lanes of the Brookyn-Queens Expressway will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street from early morning Saturday, April 13 to early morning Monday, April 15 to accommodate repair work. During that weekend expect much more traffic on our principal southbound thoroughfare, Hicks Street, and likely more on Clinton Street.

Despite the protestors who prevented Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from speaking (see previous post) at the Brooklyn Heights Association’s Annual Meeting, much else was accomplished. As reported by Mary Frost in the Eagle, BHA president Koren Volk (photo), whose term ends soon, although she will remain on BHA’s board of directors, gave an account of BHA accomplishments over the past year, but focused her talk on the ongoing challenges and opportunites facing the neighborhood. She noted that the Federal Department of Transportation had rejected the NYC DOT’s request for funding to reconstruct the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s cantilevered section below Brooklyn Heights, and credited this to community opposition, including that of the BHA. She announced the launch of the BQE Environmental Justice Coalition, which will unite the Heights with other communities along the BQE to the north and south in concerns about the highway’s environmental impact. The launch event will take place at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, April 10, at the triangle at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 16th Street.

Ms. Volk also spoke about the BHA’s “Public Realm” initiative, noting that a survey conducted by the BHA showed support for improved pedestrian access on Montague and other neighborhood streets. She said the BHA is committed to, as the Eagle story reports: “expanded sidewalks, more loading zones [to reduce double parking], traffic calming measures and ‘daylighting’ at intersections.” She credited City Council Member Lincoln Restler, who was present, along with the Cadman Park Conservancy, and the city Department of Parks for the replacement of the artificial turf in the park, and thanked dog owners for keeping their pets off the new turf. Ms. Volk also praised new businesses opening in the Heights, and announced that the Montague Diner, taking the former Happy Days Diner space and becoming a “bistro” during evening hours, will open on March 15.

There was a question and answer session during which, as the Eagle reports, it was asked “what’s happening with the Bossert Hotel (no one knows), and if a new homeless shelter is planned in the neighborhood (not that the BHA is aware of).” BHB stalwart Andrew Porter asked if more bishop’s crook lampposts would be installed in the North Heights. He was told that a contract was going out to bid, but it could be some time before any new lampposts are installed.

The meeting concluded with the Civic Service Awards, which were presented by Heights resident and former WNET-13 staff announcer Tom Stewart. One went to the Brooklyn Public Library in honor of its “Books Unbanned” program, which allows electronic access to books banned locally anywhere in the nation. It was accepted on behalf of BPL by Rachel Tiemann, librarian and branch manager of BPL’s Brooklyn Heights Branch. The other award went to The Service Collective, organized by two Heights moms, Sarah Robertson and Amanda Jones, who wanted ways for their kids to engage in community service. Through The Sevice Collective, kids are now, as the Eagle story notes, active in projects “from filling the community fridge, to gardening, shopping for homebound neighbors and creating ‘adopt an animal’ cards for local shelters.” Ms. Jones accepted the award. The Service Collective was also honored as one of the BHB Ten for 2023.

Accoring to amNewYork Metro the Federal Highway Administration has rejected the City Department of Transportation’s request for funds to redesign and rebuild the “central section” of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, the 1.5 mile section between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street that includes the cantilevered stretch below Brooklyn Heights. In December 2022 the DOT revealed three possible plans for a rebuild of the cantilevered section. None drew enthusiastic community response. Later a controversy arose over whether the rebuilt central section would have its original six lanes (three in each direction) or four, to which it had been reduceed while emergency repairs are done. (The feds’ denial of funding does not affect funds for the emergency repairs being done now.)

As the amNewYork story notes, there was substantial community opposition to any plan to rebuild the central section of the BQE in its present location. It quotes Brooklyn Heights Association Executive Director Lara Birnback as calling it “basically a highway expansion project.” She also said she believes “wide community opposition” could have been a reason for the project’s not being granted the requested funding. The story also quotes Mona Bruno of the DOT, who noted it was “common to have to apply for grants multiple times, particularly for a huge project like the BQE.” Ms. Bruno also said the rejection “would not impact the project timeline, which sees construction starting in late 2027 and completion optimistically projected for 2032.”

Mary Frost’s Eagle story contains what she calls some “chilling” information about the City Department of Transportation’s and Mayor Adams’s plans for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway beyond the urgent repair work now underway. The bad news for Brooklyn Heights is that these plans would include demolition of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade (although it would eventually be replaced by “something bigger and better”) and temporary removal of the bridge that carries Columbia Heights over the BQE, along with the Harry Chapin Playground and part of Squibb Park. This would eliminate direct access by foot, bicycle or auto, from the Heights to the Fulton Ferry District, DUMBO, and the northern parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, including the new skating rink and Jane’s Carousel. It would also deny Heights dog owners any practicable access to the Hillside Dog Park. The purpose of this is to create clearances that would accommodate larger trucks (although ones that would supposedly comply with the now enforceable weight limits, presuming those limits, which could protect a rebuilt BQE from future damage, would remain in effect).

The good news is that we have allies. Communities all along the BQE to our north and south, as Ms. Frost reports, have a common interest in avoiding the increased air pollution and noise from an expanded BQE. We also have allies in the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, Borough Hall, the City Council, and the State Senate and Assembly. The national Public Interest Research Group has, responding to a nomination by the Brooklyn Heights Association, included the proposed expansion of the BQE among its “Highway Boondoggles of 2023.” A newly formed group, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition, has sent an open letter to Governor Kathy Hochul with this request:

We urge your office and agencies to work together to (1) release any recently submitted grant applications for federal funding, and (2) create a comprehensive community-led plan centered on racial justce and equity that addresses the environmental and health impacts of air pollution, reconnects our communities, and meets our climate targets.

According to Ben Brachfeld in amNY, starting this week northbound trucks on the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway below Brooklyn Heights that exceed the 80,000 pound weight limit will be charged $650 fines. The weight sensors have been operative for three months, but until now overweight trucks have been given warnings. The sensors for the southbound (lower level) lanes haven’t yet been put in operation, but will be soon. This will begin a three month warning period followed by enforcement on the southbound lanes.

The amNY story quotes City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez as saying the warnings have been effective in reducing overweight traffic. He said there was “a sharp decline in overweight vehicles since we began issuing warnings in August and we expect that the program will continue to remove overweight trucks from our streets.”

More details are in the amMY article. Thanks to reader Andrew Porter for alerting us.

Anita Navalurkar, of the NYC Department of Transportation, has supplied information (see below) concerning the re-routing of traffic in Brooklyn during repair work on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway this coming weekend — early Saturday morning, October 14 to early Monday morning, October 16. There’s a detailed description of the planned traffic changes, with maps, here.

Some preparatory work is being done at the repair locations under Clark Street and under Grace Court this weekend. “The contractor will install formwork, sandblast existing rebars and install new rebars and install temporary striping and signage.

The city Department of Transportation’s Anita Navalurkar has given us notice of the traffic effects of planned BQE repair work below Grace Court and Clark Street from 2:00 AM Saturday, October 14 to 5:00 AM Monday, October 16. During this period: (1) the “Queens bound BQE will be fully closed from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street”; and (2) the “Staten Island bound BQE will be partially closed with only one lane available; and the Vine Street/Old Fulton Street ramp will be closed.” Furman Street will be southbound only; two lanes. This is likely to cause very large increases in traffic on all north to south or south to north Heights streets: Clinton, Henry, and Hicks, although left turns onto Hicks and Clinton from Atlantic Avenue will be banned, and the DOT has planned detours for Queens and Staten Island bound traffic. The detour routes are shown, along with more information here.

Here is the open letter, printed in full, from 16 organizations rejecting the City’s plan for BQE rehab, including A Better Way (originated by community activists in Brooklyn Heights), Brooklyn Heights Association, the Montague BID, 160 Columbia Heights, and 360 Furman St.

August 14, 2023

Dear Governor Hochul, Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Joshi, and DOT Commissioner Rodriguez:

Thank you for the opportunities your administration has provided for communities and elected officials to engage in a conversation around the future of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). Having now seen the full range of DOT’s proposals for the “BQE Central” section, as well as the proposed street-level improvements on the “BQE North & South” sections of the corridor, we want to state unequivocally that the concepts, designs, and indeed the overall car and truck – centric approach to this work do not meet the expectations or needs of the impacted communities nor the warming planet. The concepts we have seen perpetuate many of the existing problems with the BQE, and in some cases would exacerbate unsafe or polluting conditions, for example, the extremely misguided proposals to create additional highway infrastructure on the residential streets of Cobble Hill at Congress Street. Other designs represent an unnecessary expenditure of funding, time, and effort in the service of easing the movement of large trucks on the BQE, such as the needless destruction and reconstruction of the Columbia Heights Bridge, Harry Chapin Playground and parts of Squibb Park. Rather than take the opportunity to rethink mobility to meet our health, climate, and economic development goals, the proposed “BQE Central” highway rebuild will cost billions to merely recreate the highly problematic infrastructure of the past—while taking large parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Promenade out of commission for years. It prioritizes polluting vehicles over residents – dooming all the BQE-adjacent communities to live with this highway directly in their midst for generations to come. In 2020, the New York City Council with Arup Engineering issued a report called The Future of the BQE. The report clearly articulated the harms of the BQE and asked a critical question that remains even more relevant today:

“We live everyday with the costs and risks of this legacy infrastructure through poor air quality, divided communities, traffic violence, visual blight, and noise pollution – costs which depress economic and social opportunities and disproportionately fall on environmental justice communities. And yet, along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) we as a city are proposing to replace this highway infrastructure in kind? In so doing, not only are we out of step with our own goals, we are reimposing the burdens that were ignored when we built the highway system in the first place.”

We understand there is a meaningful opportunity to access infrastructure-related federal funding that should not be squandered. But, instead of spending billions to rebuild the triple cantilever bigger and wider for 100 more years of vehicular traffic and/or creating new highway infrastructure designed to make traveling easier for single-occupancy vehicles and truckers (including all the toll-shoppers) we ask NYC DOT to follow the recommendations laid out in the BQE Expert Panel and the City Council’s reports.

Specifically:

1. Take immediate action to prolong the life of the Triple Cantilever for at least 20 years through waterproofing, repair, and replacement of certain damaged sections, along with any additional critical short-term measures that would mitigate the vibrations from the roadway. Preventing a catastrophic failure must be priority number one. Access the available federal dollars to fund this work.

2. Acknowledge that any long-term BQE planning must be part of a holistic, corridor wide transformation. Today, it is the Triple Cantilever that is crumbling, tomorrow it will be another section of this decrepit highway. The state and city’s failure to commit to the implementation of transformational alternatives in the North and South sections of the corridor perpetuates the racial and economic injustice this highway already represents.

3. Immediately begin implementation of traffic demand management strategies. The BQE Expert Panel report contains a detailed appendix prepared by Sam Schwartz Engineering outlining various strategies, including closing selected BQE on/off ramps such as the QB Atlantic Ave ramp, and the implementation of HOV lanes to reduce traffic demand on the BQE. New Yorkers are literally choking under the fumes of poorly managed traffic in our neighborhoods and are dying from unchecked traffic violence. We wholeheartedly support the efforts already underway to move freight more sustainably throughout the city, such as the Blue Highways Program. The plan for a future BQE and the freight management strategies DOT has already begun investing in must reinforce each other, not contradict each other.

4. Secure available federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act for improvements in public transit. The new infrastructure law is already pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into transportation projects and has created dozens of new USDOT grant programs. Many users of the BQE, especially drivers in single occupancy vehicles, could be encouraged to use public transit instead if it was convenient and efficient.

New York City and New York State must come together to create a new, multi-stakeholder, I278 governing body that has the authority and vision to manage the necessary planning. The tasks of this body should include the creation of design guidelines and standards for the full corridor in coordination with the impacted communities, support for and coordination of the various demand management strategies including the creation of a regional transportation model, and the creation of a corridor-wide phasing plan along with sources of funding.

We urge this administration to be the anti-Robert Moses and help us rewrite history. We must think seriously about sunsetting our 20th century urban highways, as many other cities have already done, instead of doubling down on rebuilding them in place. Immediate but substantive repairs on the cantilever will buy time for NYC DOT to make progress on many other forward-thinking and relevant projects that will enable the fulfillment of a true “once in a generation” approach to the BQE: these include congestion pricing, blue highways, micro mobility last-mile delivery, Gateway, Streets Master Plan, and the proposed pedestrian and bike-prioritization in PlaNYC, and more. In the meantime, the City and State can access federal infrastructure funds for community planning to help flesh out a long-term plan for more equitable and sustainable transportation infrastructure and for investments in a transit-rich future for everyone up and down the BQE corridor, and indeed the entire city.

Sincerely,

A Better Way
America Walks (co-host of the Freeway Fighters Network)
Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District
Brooklyn Heights Association
Cobble Hill Association
DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance
El Puente
Fifth Avenue Committee
Montague Street Business Improvement
District North Heights Neighbors
North Brooklyn Parks
Open Plans
Street Plans
Transportation Alternatives
160 Columbia Heights
360 Furman Street

Read the related reporting on the open letter by Mary Frost in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

We have this from Councilmember Lincoln Restler:

Join DOT officials on Friday, August 25 from 12:00PM to 12:45PM to get an update on the interim repairs to the BQE triple cantilever: get your questions answered, learn about upcoming work, and voice any concerns you may have.

To join the meeting on Friday, click here. After opening that link, at noon Friday click on the box “Open Zoom Meetings.” That will take you there.

As reported by Stephen Nessen in Gothamist, starting this week the City’s Department of Transportation will start monitoring, using scales and license plate readers that were installed “months ago,” the weight of trucks using the Queens bound lanes of the cantilevered section of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that lies below Brooklyn Heights. Monitoring of the Staten Island bound lanes will start later. Until November 8, trucks measured as exceeeding the 80,000 pound limit will be issued warnings. After that the owners will be given $650 fines.

While the delay in starting monitoring was caused in part by work needed to calibrate the scales, monitoring also required State authorization. As Mary Frost reported in the Eagle, last Thursday Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill, sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, that provides the needed authorization.

As reported by Mary Frost in The Eagle Friday and linked in a comment by Mary Kim to her earlier post, the start of repair work to the cantilevered parts of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway beneath Clark Street and beneath Grace Court was postponed for a second time, and is now scheduled to begin Monday, July 31. Delays are likely to delay completion of the project until the fall or possibly, since work must be suspended during the winter, into next spring. Ms. Frost’s story includes a detailed account of the measures that the contractor, Bove Industries, Inc., will take to minimize noise. She notes that during the first three weeks’ work both Queens bound lanes will be closed. During the first week Staten Island bound traffic will be reduced to one lane, but during the following two weeks both Staten Island bound lanes will be open.

The NYC Department of Transportation will be holding a virtual meeting to discuss the BQE interim repairs. You can sign up for the meeting at this link.

You can also view the DOT’s June 2023 interim repairs webinar powerpoint presentation at this link or watch the webinar on YouTube at this link.

The DOT’s written update this week covered the work that began on the Columbia Street ramps last week.

Work began on the Columbia Street ramps to allow for future traffic changes during the future full weekend shutdown. This work includes the demolition of the median triangle and existing curb to allow two lanes of traffic including trucks to re-enter the Staten Island-bound BQE when SI-bound BQE beyond the interim repair active work zone is reduced to one lane. After this work is completed, the entrance ramp will be returned to current one lane operation until the first, full weekend closure (date to be determined). Columbia Street ramp work includes widening of the ramp, installation of new asphalt on demolished triangle, installation of new concrete curbs and restriping. Work on Columbia Street ramps is anticipated to be complete by July 28th however NYCDOT is working with the Contractor to condense the schedule and open the sidewalk and ramps earlier.

What to expect in the coming weeks in the area:

• Noisy work, i.e., jack hammering of concrete pavement is expected to begin on July 24th. For sound mitigation during jack hammering, the Contractor will use noise reducing tent enclosures comprised of sound blankets and smaller equipment to the extent possible.
• Single-lane, weeknight closures from 12:01 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. on the Queens-bound BQE will begin on July 20th and will continue for about eight weeks.
• The work during the single-lane closures will start with the installation of signage and striping required for the full weekend closure and the removal of asphalt at the joints to be repaired.
• Future updates will include progress on the jack hammering phase of work. The project team is continuing to work with the Contractor to condense the schedule.

For questions or concerns, or to be added to DOT’s notification list, you can reach out to the Community Liaison, Anita Navalurkar at (347) 647-0876 or anavalurkar.consultant@dot.nyc.gov.

For all NYC non-emergency services, including inquiries regarding NYCDOT construction projects, dial 311.

Gothamist reports that former DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman, who served under Mayor Bill de Blasio, opposes the three alternative long term Brooklyn Queens Expressway plans proposed by Mayor Eric Adams’s administration. All of these plans would keep the “Central” portion of the BQE following its present route around and below Brooklyn Heights. Mr. Gutman notes that federal regulations would require the traffic lanes on a rebuilt BQE to be wider than they are now, so that even a continuation of the present two lane configuration would result in a wider highway. Should the DOT revert to a three lane configuration, the highway would be “dramatically wider.” He suggested that repairing the existing cantilevered roadway instead of replacing or rebuilding it, which would require conformity with federal lane width requirements, might be the best plan. He noted that rebuilding schemes required the creation of a temporary highway to serve traffic during the rebuilding. DOT’s initial plan to put such a highway on the location of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was withdrawn after intense community opposition. DOT’s present plans would put the temporary highway over part of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Mary Frost in The Eagle has a comprehensive report on the Department of Transportation’s virtual community meeting Thursday evening discussing plans for interim repairs to the BQE this summer. Your correspondent also attended; here are some quick takeaways:

1. The work will take place at three locations: below the foot of Grace Court, below the Clark Street entrance to the Promenade, and in a DOT garage with an entrance from Furman Street, below Joralemon Street. The work at Grace Court and Clark Street, which will take place at night and on weekends over a period of several months, will be noisy. The DOT will monitor decibel levels and try to keep them within an “acceptable” range. The DOT will also do all possible to prevent or minimize dust pollution. The repair work should not generate any noticeable vibrations. Asked if this project will include efforts to minimize vibrations from traffic, the DOT reoresentative said it would not.

2. When traffic is diverted during closures of some lanes of the BQE, it will be sent to designated bypasses through Downtown Brooklyn. Traffic Agents will be positioned to keep traffic from using Hicks, Henry, or Clinton streets as bypasses. This may affect those trying to reach destinations in the Heights, as they may have to take circuitous routes.

3. Although the Promenade is on the highest level of the cantilevered structure to which the repairs are being made, it will not be affected.

4. Anita Navalurkar of DOT will provide regular updates on the repair project. To receive her updates email anavalurkar@dot.nyc.gov

We’ve been advised by State Senator Andrew Gounardes that the City Department of Transportation will start in July to do “significant and necessary repairs” to the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that underlies much of Brooklyn Heights and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. This is interim repair work simply to stabilize the existing structure before any long term plans for the BQE are implemented. “Work will be conducted overnight and is scheduled to last approximately two months, with two weekend closures planned for the fall.” The DOT will hold a “virtual community meeting” to discuss the planned work this coming Thursday evening, June 29, starting at 6:00. There are many questions that come to mind concerning noise and vibration minimization, safety in general, and the effect of the work on the Promenade (will closures be necessary?). You may register here to participate.

Update: According to Kirstyn Brendlen in the Brooklyn Paper the DOT has decided to delay repair work on the triple cantilever by conducting a traffic study before the environmental study instead of concurrently. The DOT says the cantilevered section will be safe, and “plans to begin some short-term repairs on the most-damaged sections of the Triple Cantilever this year to keep it safe and usable until 2028.”

You might recall that last month, the Brooklyn Heights Association conducted a survey to field the community’s opinions about how best to fix the thorny BQE problem. The survey data has been crunched and Mary Frost of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports on the results, along with reactions from BHA’s executive director Lara Birnback and local electeds.

Here is a snapshot of the community’s priorities according to the 500 responses.

The BHA’s full survey data report is at this link.

We’re all looking forward to never having to hear the words “crumbling triple cantilever” in our anxiety daydreams again.

In Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker sci-fi trilogy he imagined something called an “SEP field.” A spaceship surrounded by such a field became invisible because it was “Someone Else’s Problem.” The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, it seems, isn’t covered by a single SEP field, but by a multiplicity of them, depending on the point of view. For those of us living near the triple cantilevered portion it is an environmental problem consisting of air pollution, noise, and vibration. For those living elsewhere who rely on the BQE to commute by car, and for businesses that rely on it for delivery or shipment of goods, it is a problem of maintaing and possibly improving traffic flow. To them our environmental concerns are SEP, as are their transportation concerns to us. The City’s Department of Transportation is required to take environmental matters into consideration, but its principal concern, like that of the drivers and business owners, is traffic flow. Those living north and south of the cantilevered portion would like to see the impact of the BQE on their neighborhoods minimized, perhaps by covering the trenched parts or by burying the elevated ones. A complicating factor is that those parts of the BQE are under state control, while the “central” part from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street is under city control. This means that different sets of elected and administrative officials, who may have different concerns, must be involved in reaching any comprehensive solution.

A particular matter of concern for Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry Historic District, and DUMBO residents and businesses is the Department of Transportation’s plan, described in Mary Frost’s Eagle story, to take down the “bridge” that carries Columbia Heights over the BQE in order to raise it a few inches to accommodate larger trucks. This would also entail destroying the Harry Chapin Playground, which DOT says will be replaced with an improved version. For the duration of the demolition and re-construction it would block direct access between the Heights on one side and on the other the Fulton Ferry Historic District and DUMBO, as well as the northern parts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, including Jane’s Carousel. It would also block access between PS 8 and the Park, and deny use of the Hillside Dog Park to Heights residents and their pets. All this is not to mention the extreme discomfort the demolition and reconstruction process will cause residents of the North Heights. Former DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman is quoted by Ms. Frost as describing this plan as his “favorite proposal for sheer chutzpah.”

From the Brooklyn Heights Association:

Over 300 of you have taken our BQE survey so far! In light of this very encouraging response, we’re leaving the survey open for an additional 48 hours.

Please take a few minutes to respond before Thursday, May 4th at 11:59pm. Your opinions and thoughts matter a great deal to us, and a strong response helps us advocate more effectively on behalf of the neighborhood.

Take the survey at this link.

Most of the excitement occurred in the opening moments of the BHA President Koren Volk‘s remarks, where she voiced the BHA’s full-throated support of the “4 lanes or less” proposal. While the BHA applauds the Eric Adams administration for wanting to think ahead and come up with a long term vision for the only section of the BQE that the city has control over (the rest is the responsibility of NY State), the BHA wants a bold solution for a project that’s going to take 10-15 years to complete. And that solution includes 4 lanes or less, cover those lanes as much as possible, and a seat at the state-level table to discuss the other sections of the BQE. The president talked about the BHA’s involvement with the Coalition for the BQE Transformation — a coalition of a growing number of neighborhood groups trying to shape the future of the expressway. Good luck! They will be going up against the former Brooklyn Democratic boss Frank Seddio, and his coalition of Brooklyn groups fighting to expand or at least keep the BQE at 6 lanes.

After the loud applause in support, the BHA president went over the other highlights of the past year — Egg Hunt! Spring day of service! Halloween parade! Refreshed PS8 teacher’s lounge! Designer Show House! — and upcoming events — Spring day of service on May 7th! Bringing back walking tours! Explore ways to improve streets! — but this wasn’t as exciting as rattling sabers about the BQE. She touted BHA’s involvement with the recent mini-revival of Montague Street, with an obligatory photo of a line outside of the L’Appartement 4F bakery (with no BQE in sight).

There was the thanking of the board of governors (but no thanks to the BQE), and a brief overview of the BHA’s financials by Susan Restler.

The heartwarming moment of the evening was The Community Service Awards (the very antithesis of the BQE), presented by everybody’s favorite recently-retired local WNET 13 personality Tom Stewart. The first award was given to Promenade gardener (and a “BHB Ten” notable person in 2022)  Anil Chandrakumar, for his excellent work on the gardens around the Promenade. The next award was given to the “New” Friends of Hillside Dog Park association, for all their work in revitalizing the dog park in recent years. Sadly, none of the dogs honored with the award were in attendance.

The evening wrapped up with an interesting but fairly uneventful and BQE-free panel discussion on “Rethinking the Public Realm”, featuring Van Alen director Andrew Brown, Jenna Miller of the NYC Public Design Commission, Jeffrey LeFrancois of the Meatpacking District’s BID, and moderated by architect Susannah Drake. Much of the discussion seemed to be about how difficult it is to work with the city and state governments to get any project done, no matter how small it may be. (Much easier to ram a 6 lane highway through the neighborhood, though). The BHA opted against live questions in favor of pre-submitted, written down questions, which kept the drama and excitement to a minimum. There was the obligatory curmudgeon asking if it would be nicer to tear down all the restaurant street spaces and put back all the free, taxpayer-sponsored parking spots (sounds like the BQE on most days). When asked what specifically the participants would do to improve Brooklyn Heights, we liked Andrew’s idea of small, pop-up or “night” markets in either the open spaces or vacant storefronts (or maybe even a cantilevered expressway), but we think we were in the minority there.

Oh, and the winner of the raffle was ticket 2401622! Enjoy the local-business-sponsored swag, 2401622!

As we noted a week ago, the City Department of Transportation is considering the question of whether “BQE Central,” the cantilevered part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street and below Brooklyn Heights should, in whatever final design for a rebuilt BQE is adopted, keep the two lanes and shoulder in each direction configuration (see photo) that was adopted to reduce wear and tear from the weight of traffic while structural repairs are done, or revert to three lanes in each direction once structural issues are resolved and BQE Central is rebuilt to whatever new design is adopted.

The DOT’s announcement that it was considering keeping the two lane configuration was welcomed by the Brooklyn Heights Association (don’t forget their Annual Meeting coming this Wednesday evening, March 8, to which all are invited) and by local elected officials. In our previous post we quoted City Council Member Lincoln Restler saying that “adding a third lane … would amount to 6 million more vehicles releasing emissions in our community each and every year.” Since then, State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon has included this in her letter to constituents:

I was also concerned that the city’s initial proposals attempted to expand the roadway to 3 lanes (the triple cantilever portion had been reduced to 2 lanes to extend its lifespan given its rapid deterioration). The desire to limit lanes may seem counterintuitive since we all want reduced traffic congestion, but in fact studies have consistently shown that increasing roadway capacity does not reduce congestion, but rather incentivizes roadway use and produces higher traffic volumes. Restoring the Triple Cantilever portion of the BQE to three traffic lanes would likely represent at least six million more vehicles per year in our communities. This is not just about lanes, but about our public health, climate change, road safety and a modern approach to reconnecting communities.

Streetsblog reported Saturday about a “closed door” City Hall meeting yesterday, to which southern Brooklyn elected leaders and agency representatives were invited but to which none of the electeds who had expressed desire for a two lane solution were included, at which the attendees received an email letter from former Brooklyn Democratic Party head Frank Seddio, who wrote, “I don’t understand what anybody sees as doing good of having a two-lane roadway. Is there some magical thing I’m not aware of that’s gonna make the cars suddenly disappear?”

Mr. Seddio raises an interesting question. We haven’t seen any statistics concerning traffic volume on the BQE before and after BQE Central was reduced to two lanes. It seems likely that the pandemic, which preceded the lane reduction, caused some decrease in volume as many people turned to remote work. It also seems likely that, as more employers return to requiring in-office work, traffic volume will increase independently of the number of lanes available in BQE Central. Proponents of two lanes point to other instances in various places, including the West Side of Manhattan, where reduction in highway capacity or complete elimination of highways has not resulted in traffic problems. It would be useful to look at these incidents to see what happened. Did commuters shift to public transit, bikes, car sharing, or other means of reaching their destinations? Did some of them move closer to their workplaces? It seems also to matter if proponents of two lanes want, as some of them imply, to impose the limit on the entire length of the highway, north and south, instead of just BQE Central.

Mary Frost in The Eagle, stated concerning Friday’s meeting that “the Adams administration appears to be quietly pushing to rebuild the same six lane superhighway that was built 70 years ago in communities along the Brooklyn waterfront.” She added that “[t]o accomplish this, City Hall is pitting southern Brooklyn against northern Brooklyn.” The Eagle received a reply from a City Hall spokesperson, which Ms. Frost added to her story. It concluded: “We’re committed to prioritizing our bold climate goals, and to building as narrow a roadway was possible, within federal safety guidelines.” Ms. Frost also quoted DOT Chief Strategy Officer Julie Bero, who assured her “that politics would not influence DOT’s decision regarding the number of traffic lanes.”

Photo: C. Scales for BHB

State Senator Andrew Gounardes’ newsletter advises us of two public workshops to discuss plans for the “BQE Central”; i.e. the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that sits below Brooklyn Heights between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street. On Tuesday, February 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM there will be an in-person workshop at Brooklyn Friends School, 375 Pearl Street. All are invited and no advance registration is required, but you must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. For those who can’t attend on Tuesday or who prefer to attend remotely, there will be a workshop on Zoom Thursday evening, March 2, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Register here to get the Zoom link.

Gothamist reports a welcome bit of news. Pursuant to a plan by the previous mayoral administration to stabilize BQE Central while longer term plans were developed, traffic on BQE Central was reduced from three lanes to two. However, when the City Department of Transportation revealed possible long term Central BQE plans in December, reverting to three lanes was seen as a possibility. According to Gothamist the DOT has now said “it’s re-examining the number of lanes it might build as part of upgrades and repairs to the triple cantilever section of the BQE along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront.” This will entail redesigning environmental studies, the start of which will be delayed. That will in turn cause delay in the start of work. Gothamist quotes City Council Member Lincoln Restler:

We can’t afford to add a third lane that would amount to 6 million more vehicles releasing emissions in our community each and every year. It’s unacceptable for our climate future and we fully expect DOT to identify a viable two-lane solution.

There’s more information and you may join the meeting here.

As we noted two years ago, the State Legislature passed a bill sponsored by Senator Brian Kavanaugh and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, that was signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, authorizing the City Department of Transportation to install weigh stations along the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that lies below Brooklyn Heights and its Promenade. These stations would identify trucks exceeding the 80,000 pound limit, the owners of which would then be fined. As Mary Frost in the Eagle reports, the DOT has now announced that operation of these weight sensors, which were expected to be operational this month, would be “significantly delayed.” The reason, according to a DOT spokesman, is that the “calibration protocols” are “still under development.” Local elected officials expressed dismay at this news. Ms. Simon noted that the weight measuring system “is the first of its kind in the nation” but, according to the Eagle story, said “[s]he is disappointed that the DOT did not keep officials abreast of the delay”. The Eagle also quotes the Coalition for the BQE Transformation:

DOT must initiate WIM [Weight in Motion] as soon as possible; but until the program can be implemented, the city must take immediate measures and utilize every means at its disposal to enforce the existing laws governing overweight trucks and reduce the strain on the rapidly deteriorating roadway.

The WIM was one of several projects to be undertaken to stabilize the cantilevered portion of the BQE, including lane reduction and repairing structural supports, while longer term plans are considered.

Mary Frost, in the Eagle reports on yesterday evening’s meeting, in which DOT officials revealed three possible plans for the Central portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, which sits below Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade, between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street. Renderings of these plans, dubbed “The Stoop”, “The Terraces”, and “The Lookout”, can be seen in Ms. Frost’s story, linked above. In your correspondent’s estimation, The Stoop appears best because it covers the highway for at least part of its length and limits traffic to two lanes.

Regarding the number of lanes, Ms. Frost quotes Tanvi Pandya, the Department of Transportation’s head engineer for the BQE project, to the effect that the number of lanes in the Central portion may be determined as a result of environmental studies that, among other things, may consider the effect of reducing the Central portion to two lanes on traffic congestion, and accompanying pollution, on portions of the BQE to the north and south. Concerning the lanes issue, City Council Member Lincoln Restler is quoted: “It’s for our climate future; that way we don’t just replicate the status quo of highway infrastructure that has severely hurt and destabilized our communities with terrible air quality and noise issues and vibrations.” Mr. Restler urged “neighbors and stakeholders” to communicate with him because “the DOT must work in partnership with us if they hope to enact any of these proposals.”

The Brooklyn Heights Association has issued a call to arms to the community concerning possible future plans for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway:

Among the things we are hearing is that rebuilding and potentially even widening the BQE to accommodate six lanes of traffic is most definitely on the table. If true, we believe that it would be a fundamental step backwards and will not address air and noise quality, climate concerns, and the community’s stated desire to shrink–not expand–the highway.

The BHA has provided a handy link to a Bloomberg News story reporting on a study that showed adding additional lanes to highways did not result in less, but rather increased, congestion.

There will be two meetings next week at which the public can hear about and question BQE plans. The first is an in person meeting on Tuesday, December 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the New York City College of Technology, 285 Jay Street. Bring proof of vaccination or a negative test result. There will be an on line meeting Thursday evening, December 15, also from 6:30 to 8:30. Register here to get a link to attend.

Our friends at the Brooklyn Heights Association let us know that tomorrow, Wednesday, November 16, starting at 5:30 PM, “DOT will hold an online meeting for the Brooklyn Heights Community to outline their plans for repairs [to the BQE] and explain the anticipated impact on the neighborhood.” The discussion will concern the “repair” phase of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway project, not the longer range plans for the BQE’s future (or non-future). If you want to participate, just copy and go to this link at 5:30 PM: https://zoom.us/j/91458445893?pwd=RnYzb0thVGlpSFhpSEN4ekUxZk1lUT09 — the meeting ID is 914 5844 5893 and the passcode is 035948. The DOT’s prepared presentation is here.

There will be two meetings in December on the long range plans for the BQE. There will be an in-person meeting, location to be announced, on Tuesday, December 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, and an on line meeting during the same hours on Thursday, December 15. We will give you more information on these meetings when it is available.

In what is, no doubt, a preview of things to come, the Atlantic Avenue BID warns us of possible Downtown Brooklyn gridlock this weekend:

Maintenance on the BQE will require Queens-bound single lane closures (Washington to Pearl Sts) & Atlantic Ave on-ramp closures this weekend.

*AVOID* driving in Downtown Brooklyn this Saturday 10/29 1AM- Mon. 10/31 5AM.

Closure of the Atlantic Avenue on-ramp may divert more traffic onto Clinton and Hicks streets.

As Mary Frost reports in the Eagle,

Dozens of Brooklyn Heights residents trekked to the New York City College of Technology on a rainy Thursday night to attend the NYC Department of Transportation’s first community engagement meeting for the redesign of the “Central” portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE).

The “Central” portion extends from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street, and includes all of the cantilevered portion of the BQE below Brooklyn Heights, which has been declared structurally hazardous. The meeting opened with presentations by DOT representatives, followed by an opportunity for attendees to view materials prepared by the DOT “arranged” according to the Eagle story, “in a circular ‘science fair’ format.” You can see these materials here.

The Eagle quotes DOT chief strategy officer Julie Bero as saying that “City Hall has launched a multi-agency effort to consider viable alternative routes for freight traffic along the BQE.”

Reaction to the meeting was, in general, at least mildly positive. According to the Eagle story, State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon called it “a good start,” noting that it was “a crummy night and a lot of people came out.” City Council Member Lincoln Restler had some reservations. He told the Eagle, “I struggle to understand the format of the events this evening,” adding that, “I’m worried that DOT is getting off to a start where they are not engaging and listening, because I don’t see any opportunity for direct feedback.” Brooklyn Heights Association President Karen Volk said, “I am trying to remain optimistic, but there are some serious issues.” Willowtown Association President Linda DeRosa told the Eagle she’s “ready for some meat and potatoes.” She expressed concern that the DOT needed to get more information out if they expect to start work on the cantilevered section soon.

Other Heights residents who attended the meeting had varying opinions. Susan Skerritt told the Eagle she thought the meeting was a “good start” and that she thinks DOT is “going to do everything they can to be transparent so that we all have an understanding of what the issues are and what is possible given those issues.” Jennifer Eisenstadt, a member of A Better Way NYC, said she was “greatly disappointed,” noting that the “very glossy posters” presented “information that, as a community, we already know through and through since we have all in this room been so engaged with this project for years.” Science journalist Laurie Garrett, told the Eagle she was “appalled,” adding, “It feels very Mickey Mouse to me, and I assume they will throw away all of it.”

There will be a virtual session on Central BQE plans this coming Tuesday, October 18 starting at 6:30 PM. If you want to participate, please register here.