March Monthly Meeting

Fixing the BQE: Climate Progress or Peril?

Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30pm on Zoom

New Yorkers agree: the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is a traffic nightmare, and it’s falling apart. But there’s no agreement on what to do. Some critics say we should get rid of the crumbling roadway. The NYC Department of Transportation has painstakingly prepared plans to rebuild, including proposals for remaking the “triple cantilever” that includes the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the two levels of highway beneath it. Some of DOT’s proposed plans would keep the current two lanes in each direction for this central section of the BQE — but Mayor Adams is signaling a deal that would bring back the six-lane highway of the past. Can we use this as a opportunity to transform our transportation system and reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Or will we be stuck with outdated infrastructure that makes our climate and air quality worse?

Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, architect and planner John Massengale, and the Regional Plan Association’s Vanessa Barrios will discuss what’s at stake for the climate and what we can do. Register in advance to attend on Zoom.