NEW YORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams continued his administration’s unprecedented success in securing federal infrastructure funding by winning two federal “Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Program – Neighborhood Access and Equity Program” grants worth a total of $123.6 million.
The grants — issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation — will support key infrastructure projects in New York City, including the second phase of the QueensWay and planning for the future of the northern and southern sections of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE).
“Our infrastructure should be bringing communities together, not tearing them apart, and that’s why we aggressively pursued these Reconnecting Communities grants, to reshape our city in a way that unites us,” said Mayor Adams.
“The next phase of the QueensWay will add more greenway miles, vibrant parks, and outdoor amenities to neighborhoods across Queens, and the BQE Corridor grant we won moves us closer to undoing some of the damage that Robert Moses caused and invests in beautiful, interconnected new public spaces.
My thanks to President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg for establishing this transformational grant program and investing $123 million in federal grants to support our city’s growing infrastructure needs, as well as to all of our city, state, and federal partners who went to bat for New York City.”
“Across New York, we are reconnecting communities that have long been divided by highways and building healthier and more accessible neighborhoods,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
“Thanks to support from the Biden-Harris Administration, we are developing a shared vision to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers living near the BQE and I’m committed to working closely with the community and our government partners on this transformational initiative.”
“These two grants represent a huge milestone for our city — creating real momentum to stitch together historically-disadvantaged communities with green space and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. We are deeply grateful to President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, and our federal congressional delegation, led by Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader Jeffries, for enabling us to invest in a greener and healthier future for our city,” said deputy mayor for operations Meera Joshi.
“I want to congratulate our innovative Federal Infrastructure Task Force, which we started under the Adams administration to help our agencies collaborate to create the best possible applications for federal funding and has secured over a billion dollars in infrastructure funds. This is another massive win for New York City.”
BQE North and South Planning Grant, $5.6 million
Mayor Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul today also announced that the DOT and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYS DOT) won a $5.6 million federal Reconnecting Communities grant to fund planning work to improve quality of life for residents living near the BQE, particularly those from disadvantaged communities.
The grant will help the city and state identify and advance proposals to reconnect communities divided by the Robert Moses-era urban highway. The city and state will develop concepts to reestablish connections in the local transportation network — improving access to jobs, services, and green space, while bolstering pedestrian and cyclist safety.
The work funded by this grant will focus on BQE North — from the Kosciuszko Bridge to Sands Street — and BQE South — from Atlantic Avenue to the Verrazzano Bridge. These sections account for 88 percent of the BQE in Brooklyn and are owned and operated by the state. Since December 2022, DOT has supported grassroots outreach and engagement efforts, led by community-based organizations, across BQE North and South.
These efforts resulted in several proposals for the corridor, including partial or full highway caps, space activations and community amenities adjacent to the BQE, and road safety and intersection improvements. The study will review these proposals for feasibility, cost, community support, and other key factors. At least two of those proposals — one for BQE North and one for BQE South — will advance to partial design, laying the groundwork for DOT and NYS DOT to continue developing concepts to reconnect communities across the corridor.
These combined efforts are part of Mayor Adams’ BQE Corridor Vision, to work with communities along Brooklyn’s only interstate highway, investing in communities long divided by the highway, and fixing the city-owned triple cantilever between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street.
