76 replies to this topic

[Sloan]

 

 

Transit Union Endorses BQX Streetcar Plan

 

RED HOOK— The powerful TWU 100 transit workers union on Monday said it will support the city's plan to build a streetcar along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront.

https://www.dnainfo....-streetcar-plan

 

 

SNIP: .....

but would not offer a free transfer to any MTA operated buses or subways.

Boo! Hiss!  In this era of high technology, there is no reason why fare-paying streetcar riders can't seamlessly go intermodal at no extra cost. Sloan  

[KevinKorell]

Column in Daily News, New York, NY, 7/1/17:

 

De Blasio's streetcar will speed gentrification 

 

The long, hot summer started with inordinate subway delays, stifling stations, commuter rail problems and the usual traffic mess. Yet the city is pointing fingers at the state, which controls the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, instead of using the levers at its disposal to try to fix things. The mayor appoints four MTA board members and controls planning for the city streets, which are needed to run the dismally slow MTA buses, the weakest link in the entire transit system.

 

Complete column continues

[KevinKorell]

Curbed New York, 8/4/1/7:

 

Gentrification fears loom in new anti-Brooklyn-Queens streetcar documentary

 

On the heels of the release of a documentary titled “Gentrification Express: Breaking Down the BQX,” the Village Voice poses this question: “Hey, what the hell happened to BQX, anyway?”

 

And indeed, it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pie-in-the-sky proposal to bring a streetcar to the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront.

 

More

[KevinKorell]

Village Voice, 8/4/17:

 

De Blasio on BQX Streetcar: It’s Not Dead, Just Resting

 

WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show took note this morning of the Voice’s article wondering if Mayor de Blasio’s $2.5 billion BQX streetcar plan is even a thing anymore, and the mayor, on hand for his weekly #AskTheMayor segment, answered, Hell yeah it is

 

 

Story

[Sloan]

 

 

Cuomo can easily kill de Blasio’s BQX dream: report

 

Will Mayor Bill de Blasio’s feud with Gov. Andrew Cuomo doom the planned streetcar along the Brooklyn waterfront?

https://therealdeal....x-dream-report/

 

Governor Cuomo is on an "infrastructure kick."  That's an indicator, IMHO, that he plans to run for president in 2020.  If that's the case, it's unlikely he would alienate voters by killing the BQX.  I welcome comments from New York area members of this board.  Sloan

Edited by Sloan, 15 December 2017 - 09:22 AM.

[KevinKorell]

Curbed New York, 11/10/17:

 

 

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More roadblocks could keep the Brooklyn-Queens streetcar from becoming a reality

 

Is the Brooklyn-Queens streetcar project a bust? Two sources connected with the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX), as the project is officially known, suggested as much to the New York Post, on Thursday.

 

This one

[Sloan]

 

 

A first look at the Brooklyn-Queens Connector

Well, this sure puts those old Brooklyn trolley cars to shame.

The Post got a first look Sunday at what could become the new mode of transportation between Brooklyn and Queens, the Citadis 405 prototype, which was built by the French company Alstom and shipped here from Nice.

http://nypost.com/20...eens-connector/

[Sloan]

 

 

Still Pushing for the Trolley, by Nathan Weiser

 

The latest ploy by the real-estate lobbying group, Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, took place in November at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

http://www.star-revu...h.UwvaNEJM.dpbs

 

 

SNIP: 

Red Hook resident Robert Berrios disagrees with the above analysis. He points out that the same traffic jam that can stop bus traffic will stop the trolley—as the track lies on the same roads that trucks and garbage vehicles travel over.

That's a valid point, The route of the proposed BQX should avoid as much mixed traffic possible.  

Sloan

[KevinKorell]

Curbed New York, 12/21/17:

 

 

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BQX misses key deadline, potentially delaying streetcar project by months

 

 

The city’s Economic Development Corporation was set to launch a public review process for the Brooklyn-Queens Connector at the end of this year, but that will no longer happen, Crain’s reports. The city agency is still busy studying the overall feasibility of the project, and does not want to rush into the next stage, a spokesperson for the agency told Crain’s.

 

Update

[KevinKorell]

New York, NY Post, 12/26/17:
 

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Brooklyn trolley project will conflict with BQE repair

 
 
Mayor de Blasio’s controversial BQX trolley project will conflict with repairs to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, according to a top transportation official.

Transit planners intend to build a section of the $2.5 billion trolley at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Columbia Street in Brooklyn.

 

 
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