Local environmental organizations are pushing for structural repairs to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) rather than the city's proposed expansion efforts. In a letter to state and city leaders, the BQE Environmental Justice Coalition criticized the NYC Department of Transportation's (DOT) design plans, highlighting that they could entrench a problematic roadway further into communities. Key voices, including Lara Birnback from the Brooklyn Heights Association, stressed the urgency of their concerns prior to official environmental reviews. The coalition comprises various organizations aiming to prevent what they view as detrimental infrastructural changes in their neighborhoods.
In a letter sent on May 28 to Governor Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, and state and city transportation leaders, the BQE Environmental Justice Coalition urged the officials to scrap the NYC Department of Transportation's (DOT) design plans that would essentially rebuild the heavily used thoroughfare.
Lara Birnback, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, is one of the authors of the letter. She told amNewYork that it was important to send the letter before official environmental reviews of the proposed project begin.
"We know DOT has been preparing for that for a while, but we wanted to make sure as a coalition we were on the record voicing our concerns over the plans we've seen put forward so far by the DOT," Birnback explained.
One of NYC DOT's plans includes a full-scale rebuild of the BQE's crumbling triple cantilever section, also known as "BQE central," a 1.5-mile stretch between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street in Brooklyn Heights.
#brooklyn-queens-expressway #environmental-justice #community-advocacy #infrastructure #new-york-city
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