Backers of the BQX say Amazon helps prove their case
Streetcar supporters say office growth along the route will grow 50% within a decade, spurring need for more transit
The proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) streetcar system has been moving forward at a crawl for nearly three years, sometimes even appearing to be permanently stalled. Along the way, ambitions have been tempered. In August, Mayor de Blasio announced a new plan in which the rail system would be shorter (11 miles, down from 16), pricier ($2.73 billion, up from $2.5 billion), and later (running by 2029, instead of 2024).
The progress so far, along with debate about the plan’s worthiness, hasn’t left Brooklyn and Queens residents holding their breath for that low-cost, scenic ride from Gowanus to Astoria.
But then along came Amazon and its plans to spend $2.5 billion to create an office complex for 25,000 workers in Long Island City, right along the BQX’s proposed route. Amazon’s plan has delivered a see-what-we-mean moment for BQX supporters, who contend that commercial and residential development along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront will make the rail system an essential transit link.