
Image Credit: NYC DOT
The city is launching two parallel public engagement campaigns, BQE Central and BQE North and South. On September 16, 2022, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced a public engagement campaign that will inform the administration’s efforts to improve the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). With federal funding newly available through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Mayor Adams intends to finance much-needed repairs to the BQE. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT
One year ago, in January 2020, the Expert Panel assigned by Mayor Bill de Blasio to study the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway issued its Final Report. Mayor de Blasio in 2019 appointed the seventeen-person Expert Panel* of which I was a member, following the angry rejection of New York City DOT’s plan for reconstructing the section of the BQE adjacent to Brooklyn Heights, Dumbo and Downtown Brooklyn. City DOT presented its plan publicly September 2019. The plan caused immediate outrage. (more…)

Image credit: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.
On August 19, 2022, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue cut the ribbon on a $6.74 million renovation of La Guardia Playground, at 252 S 4th St., in South Williamsburg. She was joined by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez, and community members and representatives from the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance and El Puente. The new developments are funded by NYC Parks’ Community Parks Initiative (CPI), which targets high-density, low-income spaces for green features and recreational spaces. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT.
On February 3, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Hank Gutman as the new Commissioner of the Department of Transportation. With only eleven months left in the de Blasio Administration, Gutman has set ambitious goals. His past experiences make it likely that he will achieve his goals. (more…)

Image Credit: NYC DOT
The plan focuses on immediate monitoring and repairs to allow for more time to plan for the future. On August 4, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Hank Gutman announced a plan to extend the life of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) cantilever for at least 20 years with additional plans for the long-term. The plan is in four parts: preserving the structure; maintenance; expansion in monitoring; and developing a long-term vision. (more…)