We’ve learned, via Notify NYC, that “[t]he City will provide relief for small businesses that are making less because of COVID-19.” Details are here. Help for affected individuals, including eviction assistance and emergency cash grants to cover rent or utility arrears, is also available. Go to Mayor de Blasio’s State of Emergency declaration and scroll down to the text […]
Tag Archives | Mayor Bill de Blasio
Cuomo, de Blasio Declare State of Emergency; Large Gatherings Banned
Governor Andrew Cuomo (photo) today declared a statewide State of Emergency, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has followed with a citywide one. The Daily News reports that these declarations, which go into effect at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow (Friday, March 13) prohibit “events of more than 500 people” in “areas, concert halls and houses of worship.” What isn’t […]
Tuesday Morning City Council Hearing on BQE
While the expert panel appointed by Mayor de Blasio recently released its report on renovation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the City Council also commissioned a report on that topic by the urban design firm ARUP. That report will be released this Tuesday morning, February 25 at 10:00 a.m., at a public hearing on “The Future of the BQE” […]
Mayor Responds to BQE Panel: Enforce Heavy Truck Ban, but Don’t Reduce Lanes
Anna Sanders in the Daily News reports that Mayor Bill de Blasio has responded to the recommendations included in the report just issued by the expert panel that he appointed to study options for the rehabilitation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The Mayor said an existing ban on trucks weighing over 80,000 pounds will be immediately and strictly enforced. He […]
BQE Panel Report Released to BHA, Other Community Groups
Our friends at the Brooklyn Heights Association, along with other interested community groups, met with the expert panel appointed by Mayor de Blasio today, and received the panel’s recommendations concerning rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The BHA quoted the conclusions to the Panel’s report as follows: An immediate fix for the roadway, prioritizing the safety […]
Will the BQE Panel Defer to Another Panel?
The issue of repairing the cantilevered stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and Brooklyn Heights is one that those in authority have, for some years, as the saying goes, “kicked down the road.” Any solution was bound to raise problems, whether for drivers and truckers who use the BQE, Brooklyn Heights […]
WSJ: BQE Panel Considering Short Term Repairs; Long Term Re-Design – Report Now Expected January
The Wall Street Journal reports that unidentified members of the panel appointed by Mayor de Blasio have said data from sensors indicates the cantievered section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway under brooklyn Heights is in worse shape than prevously believed. Some panel members have indicated that trucks over a certain weight may have to be banned […]
Electeds Ask de Blasio and FAA to Ban Non-Essential Helicopter Flights
We previously noted that three Congressional Representatives, including Nydia Velazquez, who represents Brooklyn Heights, co-sponsored a bill introduced in Congress that would effectively ban all non-essential helicopter flights, including tourist and commuter flights, over all boroughs of New York City. AM New York reports that these same Representatives, along with three others, all from the […]
City Council Hires Firm To Study BQE Options
Mary Frost reports in the Eagle that the City Coucil has decided it needs a new perspective regarding the rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. The council has selected multinational engineering firm Arup to provide “independent, outside expertise” on the city Department of Transportation’s plans, according to [Council Speaker Corey] Johnson’s office. According to the […]
Elected Officials Press DOT on BQE Plans
The Eagle’s Mary Frost reports that local elected officials; federal. state, and local, have joined to sign a letter to New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg, asking for clarification concerning the plans for repair or reconstruction of the cantilevered portion of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway below Brooklyn Heights and the Promenade. The […]
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