A delegation sponsored by the BHA traveled to Albany on Tuesday, March 6th to urge the State to authorize Design-Build for the fast-approaching $2 billion BQE Project. Joining the BHA were representatives from Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, and Park Slope, as well as from the Promenade Gardens Conservancy and CHIPS.
Without Design-Build, NYCDOT will have to detour 16,000 trucks daily off the BQE by 2026 onto local streets. With this authorization, DOT can complete the project before this catastrophic diversion becomes necessary and save $113 million.
In back-to-back meetings, the delegation met with nine Assemblymembers and seven Senators, or their legislative aides,with Ali Chaudhry, Governor Cuomo’s Deputy Secretary of Transportation, and squeezed in a press event. An account of the day’s events is here.
We were highly encouraged to learn the night before the trip that Alphonso David, the Governor’s Counsel, wrote on the Governor’s behalf to City Council Speaker Corey Johnson about the State’s position on pressing issues facing the city, and in particular, that “the Governor would be fully supportive of design build for the BQE.” The letter acknowledged the Governor’s concern for the traffic impacts of the project on downtown Brooklyn communities if Design-Build is not available to expedite the project.
The Senators and Assemblymembers with whom we met expressed their support, but passage of the legislation is by no means assured. Last year, only the Assembly passed this legislation, but the Senate’s action this year remains uncertain. Senator Martin Golden introduced new legislation that includes other measures, some of which might be unacceptable to the City and to the Assembly.
Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon will be working with their colleagues to send a “One House Bill” to the Governor outlining their respective budget priorities that include Design-Build for the BQE. The objective is to have this authorization passed with the State Budget, but the budget deadline is only 3 weeks away.
There are two actions the community can do in support of Design-Build, but time is of the essence:
First, sign the BHA’s petition, and second, call the following Senators to urge them to bring the bill to the floor and get it passed by the Senate:
Martin Golden, sponsor of S7698, (518) 455-2730
Simcha Felder, Chair-Cities Committee, (518) 455-2754
Majority Leader John Flanagan, (518) 455-2071
Please Call Now! Thanks for your support.
back to top