Meet the 17 people who may decide the fate of the BQE
BQE panel expects to make recommendations in the fall
To finally bring a measure of urban planning to what has been a chaotic, whiplash-inducing BQE reconstruction planning process, Mayor Bill de Blasio last week announced a blue-ribbon panel of experts to look at options for the replacement of a 1.5-mile stretch of the decrepit highway.
The panel will not only attempt to sort through proposals that have appeared out of the woodwork after the city’s own plans provoked tremendous outcry, but will make decisions that could set a course for the city’s transportation future.
So who are the 17 people entrusted with the future of the BQE?
A breakdown of the announced membership shows a plethora of power hitters with a concentration of engineering, construction, business and labor experts (eight), plus the vice-president of Con Edison and the chairman of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The remaining members include people who have won plaudits as being tops in their respective fields: one architect; one future-city imaginer from Alphabet (Google’s parent company); the president of the Municipal Art Society; a respected professor of urban planning at NYU; an award-winning law professor; and the president of the nonprofit Regional Plan Association.