Rendering of the BQX at Queens Plaza
June 3, 2016 By Michael Florio
The City will host a public meeting in Long Island City regarding the Brooklyn-Queens Connector, the proposed $2.5 billion streetcar that would run between the two boroughs.
The meeting will take place on June 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the CUNY School of Law, located at 2 Court Square, according to Lydon Sleeper, Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations with the NYC Economic Development Corporation.
Representatives from the EDC and Department of Transportation are set to attend.
This is one of several community visioning sessions slated for neighborhoods along the planned BQX route, to help the EDC and DOT gather community input on the proposal. The first meeting was held in Astoria on May 9.
The EDC estimates that the streetcar would serve 50,000 riders daily and 15 million riders annually.
The plan is to create 30 stops running between Astoria and Sunset Park, Brooklyn with each stop about a half-mile apart. There will be about a five- to ten-minute wait between arrivals during peak hours and the streetcar can carry twice as many riders as buses, Sleeper said at the Astoria meeting.
At that meeting, residents broke up into groups, sitting down with representatives from the two agencies to discuss the BQX proposal and give their input.
The EDC asked residents whether they could envision this transportation system in their neighborhood, and had attendees point out streets they thought would best be served by the streetcar.
In addition, the agency asked residents to express any concerns, which included the loss of parking spaces, as well as the cost and time of necessary construction.
