Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC considers turning blighted areas beneath the BQE into vibrant public spaces
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 9, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
NYC Department of Transportation
By
Stephen Nessen
Published Oct 9, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
New York City's transportation department on Wednesday announced that it is considering a slew of projects to turn the blighted areas beneath and around the traffic-choked Brooklyn-Queens Expressway into public spaces New Yorkers might actually enjoy.
The concepts were published in a 154-page report by the Department of Transportation, which was the product of two years of public outreach. They include converting the space under the highway at Park Avenue in Fort Greene into a hub where delivery workers can charge their e-bike batteries and store their vehicles. Another idea would redesign the dizzying intersection beneath the BQE at West Ninth Street to make the area safer for pedestrians and cyclists and less confusing for drivers.
The report also considers a proposal that has been discussed for years: capping the trenched sections of the highway in Carroll Gardens, Williamsburg and Bay Ridge to build parks and public spaces above the roadway.
The city transportation department may convert an area beneath the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Fort Greene into a hub for e-bike delivery workers.
NYC Department of Transportation
“What the DOT engaged in is a large grassroots effort to get the voice of those who live every day in the shadow of the BQE and hear from them exactly what their concerns are, their visions, their plans, many of which they've been thinking through for years, so that we can put them together and pick out a few of them and take them to the next stage,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi.
While capping sections of the highway is considered a long-term project requiring years of engineering, outreach and federal funding, officials said some of the other smaller projects could be completed at little cost to taxpayers.
The report notes the BQE is a crucial traffic artery used by 150,000 vehicles daily. But it also says the highway harms residents' quality of life across Brooklyn and Queens.
The BQE currently cuts through Williamsburg in a trench, but the DOT is considering capping the highway to build a new public space.
NYC Department of Transportation
“The BQE’s infrastructure has come at the expense of communities and neighborhoods alongside the highway: It acts as a physical barrier, divides neighborhoods and limits connections for pedestrians and bicyclists,” the report states. “The highway poses challenges to the safety, accessibility and environment of the communities it traverses.”
Officials said they will tap into a $5.6 million federal grant to further study the proposals in the report before moving forward with any ambitious redesigns.
Marco Carrión, executive director of the Williamsburg environmental justice organization El Puente, said he wants the city and state transportation departments to move forward with solid plans for the BQE that turn some of the renderings in the report into reality.
"We still have not yet seen a joint commitment from city and state DOT in pushing forward a comprehensive approach and transformative vision to this corridor that invests in alternative measures that make our communities healthier, safer and less dependent on this infrastructure," Carrión said in a statement.
The release of the report comes as city transportation officials continue to mull over a final design to rebuild the dilapidated triple-cantilever section section of the BQE in Brooklyn Heights. Officials have delayed a decision on that project for more than five years, but say they plan to begin construction in 2029.
Tagged
new york city
brooklyn
bqe
queens
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .