BQE workshop schedule: Oct. 30 through Nov. 8

In-person and virtual

October 30, 2023 Mary Frost

Cars drive by on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway

The BQE “trench” divides the South Williamsburg community. Eagle photo by Mary Frost

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The New York City Department of Transportation is hosting its third round of public workshops on concepts to improve the spaces under and around the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway North and South. The four workshops, which will be held both in-person and virtually, begin on Monday, Oct. 30, and continue through Nov. 8.

At the workshops, DOT will discuss concepts developed in response to community feedback during the first two rounds of workshops, including feedback provided by “BQE Community Partners,” which are local organizations DOT has been meeting with on a narrow basis.

Workshop Schedule

BQE North Workshop 3 (In-Person)
Monday, Oct. 30
Location: Swinging Sixties Senior Center, 211 Ainslie St., Brooklyn
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

BQE North Workshop 3 (Virtual)
Thursday, Nov. 2
Please register in advance at: bit.ly/BQENorth11-2
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

BQE South Workshop 3 (In-Person)
Monday, Nov. 6
Location: P.S. 24 (Cafeteria), 427 38 St., Brooklyn
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

BQE South Workshop 3 (Virtual)
Wednesday, Nov. 8
Please register in advance at: bit.ly/BQESouth11-8
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

BQE North refers to the state-owned section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from Sands Street to the Kosciusko Bridge, while BQE South refers to the state-owned section from Atlantic Avenue to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

BQE Central encompasses the crumbling, city-owned Triple Cantilever section of the highway underpinning the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. The city is currently carrying out interim repairs on BQE Central as plans for a major reconstruction are being debated.

The city says its goal for the upcoming BQE North and South workshops is to share “community-driven recommendations” to reconnect communities long-divided by the BQE. Since BQE North and South are controlled by the state, the city maintains it can’t improve the highway itself, but only the city-owned areas around it.

At previous BQE North and South workshops, DOT shaped the discussion along three main themes. These concepts looked at “approaches to improve street safety and equitably invest in public space along BQE North and South,” NYC DOT Commissioner Rodriguez said in a release.

The three themes include:

“Community Connector,” which emphasized improved crossings under and over the BQE to safely reunite communities;
“Multi-Modal Connector,” which looked at how to improve the transit experience for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers;
“Green Connector,” which considered the potential to create more green infrastructure under and along the BQE.

Past materials are available at bqevision.com.

Community coalition calls for ‘corridor-wide transformation’

In August, a coalition of 16 organizations representing communities along the entire BQE corridor sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Mayor Joshi, and Commissioner Rodriguez saying in part, “Having now seen the full range of DOT’s proposals for the ‘BQE Central’ section, as well as the proposed street-level improvements on the ‘BQE North & South’ sections of the corridor, we want to state unequivocally that the concepts, designs, and indeed the overall car and truck-centric approach to this work do not meet the expectations or needs of the impacted communities nor the warming planet.”

The groups, which included the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District, Brooklyn Heights Association, Cobble Hill Association, DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, El Puente, Fifth Avenue Committee and many more, said that rather than dividing the work on the BQE into North, South and Central segments, “Long-term BQE planning must be part of a holistic, corridor-wide transformation.”

They urged the city and state to come together “to create a new, multi-stakeholder, I-278 governing body that has the authority and vision to manage the necessary planning.”