BQX Route Maps: See How the New Brooklyn-to-Queens Streetcar Could Cut Through Your Neighborhood

BROOKLYN, NY — City officials have released a "short list" of possible routes for the proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector, a multi-billion dollar streetcar system that would run along the waterfront from Astoria, Queens, to Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Maps provided by Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New York Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the city agencies studying the streetcar plan, show the pros and cons of running the light rail along various streets in Astoria, Long Island City, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Red Hook and Sunset Park.

The proposed neighborhood routes are included below. You can click the graphics to enlarge them, or examine the document directly on the EDC's website.

Greenpoint and Williamsburg

Fort Greene and Clinton Hill

Downtown Brooklyn

Cobble Hill

Red Hook

Sunset Park

Astoria and Long Island City

EDC spokesman Anthony Hogrebe said the EDC and DOT have already started presenting the proposals to community boards and elected officials, and will present them to all community boards by the end of the year.

A meeting before Community Board 6 has already been scheduled for Nov. 17 at 6 p.m., he said.

According to the agencies' document, the proposed routes are informed by a variety of goals, such as limiting traffic disruption, maintaining sidewalk access, and connecting the BQX to the existing MTA system.

Hogrebe said the "short list" of route locations will help residents "start looking at what are the tradeoffs" of different train paths.

In Greenpoint and Williamsburg, for example, routes were envisioned running along McGuinness Boulevard, Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street. The Franklin Street route would be "close to high density residential" development, the planners found, but far from the G train. McGuinness Boulevard would force the BQX to contend with "heavy truck and regional traffic" and would be "far from [the] high density waterfront," but would also benefit from a wide road.

In Red Hook, often cited as one of the communities that would reap the most from the BQX, the study showed routes along Columbia Street, Mill Street and Van Brunt and Richards Street. The Columbia Street route would serve a smaller geographic area, but would be closer to the densest parts of the neighborhood, the planers wrote. Mill Street would offer a connection to the F/G line at 9th Street. Running along Van Brunt and Richards Street would make the train's trip longer, but would serve more people.

In addition to its route proposals, the presentation reviews the projected overall upsides of the BQX, such as its ability to serve residents without easy access to mass transit, as well as the major takeaways from a series of community meetings the agencies hosted this spring

According to a timeline put forward in the study, EDC and DOT are still slated to put forward a feasibility study of the BQX in early 2017, which Hogrebe said will include much more detail on the functioning and financing of the system. After that, additional community input sessions will be held along the lines of last spring's gatherings, he said.

The recently released presentation still assumes construction of the BQX will be financed using "Capital funds generated through a new entity able to issue bonds," while "Debt will be repaid by capturing a percentage of increased real estate value along the corridor." That approach is known as "value capture."

Hogrebe couldn't immediately say if the feasibility study would provide a breakdown of how the city expects the BQX to impact real estate prices along its route, though he said, as the agency has in the past, that "the vast majority of the value capture is expected to come from new multi-family developments and some commercial development."

At past meetings, EDC and DOT officials have said the feasibility study will also assess whether the project is worthwhile. However, a statement put out by DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg on Wednesday made it seem clear that her agency was behind the infrastructure plan (as Trottenberg has done in the past).

"New York City needs to think big — and the BQX is a bold plan to connect the booming waterfront communities of Brooklyn and Queens," Trottenberg said in the statement. "In the 21st century, cities like New York need to build transportation systems that promote urban growth and opportunity. As we look at a wide range of possible routes through these neighborhoods, we look forward to input from neighbors and stakeholders to identify the best option."

Lead rendering courtesy of Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector