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 […]
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BQE Truck Weight Limit Enforcement Begins Today
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 […]
“Java with Jo Anne” at Vineapple Thursday Morning
New York State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, whose 52nd Assembly District includes Brooklyn Heights, will have one of her periodic “Java with Jo Anne” sessions this Thursday morning, October 26, from 9:30 to 11:00 AM, at Vineapple, 71 Pineapple Street (between Henry and Hicks). Ms. Simon invites you to join her there to discuss […]
Letter from 16 Organizations to Electeds Rejecting the City’s BQE Rehab Plans
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 […]
Overweight Truck Monitoring Starts on BQE, Thanks to Local Electeds
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 […]
Former Transportation Commissioner Criticizes Mayor’s BQE Plans
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 […]
Update on BQE Repair Plans
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 […]
Why Is a BQE Solution So Hard to Find? Will We Lose Chapin Playground and Access to Fulton Ferry/DUMBO?
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 […]
“Pedestrian Safety Walk” on Atlantic Avenue Saturday
We’ve learned through Brooklyn Bridge Parents that this Saturday, April 29, there will be a “Walk for Pedestrian Safety” starting at noon at Atlantic and Furman Street and progressing to the intercession of Atlantic and Flatbush. This is inspired by the Brooklyn Heights Blog post about the woman who was killed by a drunken driver […]
Lincoln Restler Sez: Vote for How to Spend My Million
We’re a bit late on this one, but you still have through this Sunday, April 2 to vote online for how City Councilmember Lincoln Restler (photo) should spend the million dollar kitty allocated to his 33rd City Council District for climate justice related projects. There are nine projects to choose from, and you may vote […]
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