Sen. Gounardes to Gothamist: "We Need a Plan for the BQE"
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Gothamist: Brooklyn politicians call for patch job on BQE, say Mayor Adams can't do permanent fix
A group of Brooklyn elected officials wrote in a letter on Monday that they’ve given up hope Mayor Eric Adams will be able to fix the crumbling triple-cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and called on the city to make short-term fixes to keep the structure from falling down.
“While the current mayoral administration has been pursuing a long-term fix for the BQE triple cantilever, it is no longer clear that the approval and implementation of this path will occur before the useful life of the Cantilever expires,” said the letter, which was signed by Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler, State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon and U.S. Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Dan Goldman.
City engineers have for years warned the section of the highway tucked beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade is deteriorating. Plans to rebuild the section have since 2019 been either shot down by community opposition or floundered in bureaucratic limbo.
City officials earlier this year said their latest plan to reconstruct the roadway would not break ground until 2029.
The letter requests the mayor’s office and the city transportation department create a “new stabilization plan to preserve the safety and integrity of the Triple Cantilever for, at minimum, the next 15 to 20 years.”
