BQE Replacement: Call for Hearings

VIEW LETTER TO THE NYC COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR

VIEW LETTER TO THE BROOKLYN AND QUEENS BOROUGH PRESIDENTS

VIEW LETTER TO THE NYS ASSEMBLY AND SENATE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE CHAIRS

SUMMARY

The Transportation Committee sent letters to the New York City Council’s Committee on Transportation, the Brooklyn and Queens Borough Presidents, and the New York State Legislature (Senate and Assembly Committees on Transportation) expressing concerns about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway reconstruction project. Specifically, the Committee is concerned that the window is rapidly closing to replace the existing BQE adequately, efficiently, and in a long-lasting, societally useful way, and that the roadway is potentially in danger of a cataclysmic event that may cause significant economic losses, injuries and deaths. The Committee urges the convening of oversight hearings on the present state of the BQE Replacement in order to discuss the concerns of various stakeholders and to promote cooperation among the NYC DOT, NYS DOT, US DOT, and others.

Similar letters were sent to all recipients; click on links above to view each letter.

REPORT

April 16, 2021

Via Email

Hon. Ydanis Rodriguez, Chair
NYC Council Committee on Transportation
New York City Council
250 Broadway, Suite 1763
New York, New York 10007
Email: yrodriguez@council.nyc.gov

Re: BQE Replacement and the Dire Urgency of Now to Avoid Disaster; A Call for Hearings

Dear Council Member Rodriguez:

Though the COVID-19 Crisis has limited the volume of people movement in New York City and the New York Metropolitan Region for the time being, it has not eliminated or even reduced the various issues and problems affecting transportation in the City and Region, which will all return as COVID-19 subsides or abates. One critical issue that the New York City Bar Association (City Bar) Transportation Committee has been following for some time is the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) reconstruction.

In this regard, we have also had for some time the same concerns that Professor Ross Sandler wrote about in his Op-Ed article in the New York Daily News on Jan. 5, 2021.[1]  (A copy of the Sandler Op-Ed is annexed to this letter.)  In essence, the concerns consist of two levels: first, that the window is closing rapidly to replace the existing BQE adequately, efficiently, and in a long-lasting, societally useful way; and, second, that the roadway is potentially in danger of a cataclysmic event that may cause injuries and deaths, significant economic losses, and a likely extensive decline in the quality of life in the City and Region.

Professor Sandler noted that the recently published and disseminated Report of the BQE Expert Panel, created in 2019 by Mayor de Blasio, identified the urgency of the problem and a number of solutions to the looming disaster that the BQE presents (the “Jan. 30, 2020 BQE Report”).  In this respect, the Panel urged a different design from the present Robert Moses designed and constructed BQE (from the 1930s to the 1960s).  It also made clear to all discerning readers that only close cooperation among the City, State, and Federal Departments of Transportation could avert disaster. [2]

The Transportation Committee is concerned that the necessary cooperation between NYS DOT and NYC DOT may be lagging, which would be regrettable and unfortunate in light of the ascension of a receptive administration of the US Department of Transportation under the leadership of Pete Buttigieg as Secretary (now confirmed) and former NYC DOT Commissioner, Polly Trottenberg, as Deputy Secretary (awaiting hearing and confirmation).[3] Thus, public outreach and inquiry is critical.

Accordingly, the City Bar’s Transportation Committee urges you and the New York City Council to hold oversight hearings on the present state of the BQE Replacement, the recommendations in the Jan. 30 BQE Report, and the issues raised by Professor Sandler in his Op-Ed. Invitees might include representatives from NYC DOT, NYS DOT, the United States Department of Transportation, and, of course, Professor Sandler and his colleagues on the BQE Expert Panel.  The Committee has made a similar request to your colleagues in the New York State Legislature and to Brooklyn and Queens Borough Presidents.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully,
Robert M. Brill, Esq., Chair

RMB:asb

encl. and attach.

cc:
Hon. Corey Johnson, Speaker, New York City Council
Hon. Laurie Cumbo, New York City Council
Hon. Brad Lander, New York City Council
Hon. Stephen Levin, New York City Council
Members, NYC Council Committee on Transportation
Daniel B. Feintuck, Esq., Secretary, City Bar Transportation Committee
Members, City Bar Transportation Committee