By Matthew Fischetti
mfischetti@queensledger.com
NorthBrooklyn elected officials and advocates slammed the state on Monday, after the State Department of Transportation told Streetsblog that Hochul administration has no intention of addressing the state portion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Earlier this year, the Adams administration announced a public engagement session for redesign of the BQE due to funds available from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The BQE is split into two major parts: one dubbed BQE Central, the city owned part which stretches from Atlantic Ave. to Sands St; and the second being BQE North and South which is under state purview.
The officials took their frustration to Jaime Campiz Playground on Marcy Ave, more commonly known as “Green Grass”, which lies right across from the BQE.
“This is not about division. From Greenpoint to Brooklyn Heights. From Bay Ridge, down further south – we are unified. And we are all claiming that we want to see a corridor-wide plan. And it needs to happen now,” Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso said at the press conference.
On Thursday, after Streetsblog broke the story over the state’s lack of plans, 18 elected officials across Brooklyn released a statement condemning the state’s decision to just provide technical assistance rather than a full redesign.
For years, the city and state has considered different ways to redesign and fix the crumbling highway. The BQE was originally designed to carry 47,000 vehicles a day but carries an estimated 150,000 vehicles per day now, according to Curbed.
““New York State DOT’s refusal to commit to participating in NYC DOT’s visioning process for their portions of the BQE is completely unacceptable and irresponsible. This historic opportunity to rebuild the BQE extends beyond the Triple Cantilever and our communities deserve a forward thinking vision that redesigns the entire BQE and addresses the significant environmental justice impacts of the thruway,” their statement read.
Greenpoint and Brooklyn Height Councilman Lincoln Restler did not hold back his words at Monday’s press conference.
“One thing that we all learned when we read the Power Broker is that highways can be racist,” Restler said, referencing the 1,336 page tome that chronicles city planner Robert Moses’s implementation of highways.
“Infrastructure can be racist. The BQE is racist. It has caused enormous harm to communities all throughout Brooklyn,” he continued.
Restler also specifically called to move forward with the BQGreen proposal which would add a decked 3.5 acre park
Williamsburg Councilwoman Jennifer Gutiérrez noted that perhaps Brooklyn needed to remind the state what it means to be an environmental justice community.
“It means that since the BQE, since Robert Moses, it has been our communities that have had to breathe the fumes that have to deal with the environmental issues of this racist highway. It’s us dealing with the risk every single day and not state DOT,” she said. “What it means to be an environmental justice community is to be unapologetic, and what we demand and in the future that we see for all of us, for many of us that are here, the damage is done. We don’t stand here for ourselves. We stand here for our descendants. We stand here for our future.”
While not in attendance on Monday, Emily Gallgher’s Chief of Staff represented the Assemblymember, who’s exchange with the State DOT Commish raised the concern of the state not being interested in a full redesign of the bridge.
“We are not going to kick the can down the road any further,” Andrew Epstein said. “We’re going to tackle this racist infrastructure once and for all and we’re going to bring New York State DOT to the table as soon as we possibly can.”
Editors Note: Emily Gallagher is a former columnist for the Greenpoint Star.
