Brooklyn Residents Fear New Streetcar Will Drive Them From Their Homes

Pictured: Community members discuss the proposed BQX during Monday's meeting. Photo by John V. Santore

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — An opinionated group of about 70 New Yorkers attended Monday's public meeting here on a proposed streetcar running from Brooklyn to Queens. The project was met with a mixture of strong support, cautious optimism and outright opposition.

During a period of dialogue with the audience, Lydon Sleeper, a top public relations staffer with the city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) who has led a series of "visioning sessions" exploring the project, directly addressed some of the central critiques of the streetcar, named the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX).

As currently envisioned, the train would run about 17 miles along the coastline from Astoria, Queens, to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The city estimates it would cost about $2.5 billion to build, would transport approximately 50,000 people on weekdays, and would require about $30 million annually to operate.

Mode of transit for downtown Brooklyn residents. Graphics courtesy of EDC and DOT.

Supporters say the system would ease commute times between Brooklyn and Queens and connect residents of all economic levels to new job opportunities.

Those backers have also proposed paying for the BQX's construction using a "value capture" system, which would tap a portion of future tax revenues along the train's route (a sum the transit system itself is expected to boost).

That financing strategy, however, led a member of the Brooklyn Heights Association to ask if the proposal's "unspoken goal" was to price out residents for the benefit of developers. (The same concern has been raised repeatedly by activists in Sunset Park.)

In response, Sleeper said directly, "Displacement is not the goal."

EDC spokesman Anthony Hogrebe later added the city expects "the vast majority" of new property tax payments to come not from small homeowners, but from "new development and large commercial" properties.

Vehicle availability for downtown Brooklyn residents.

That, however, is exactly what Fort Greene resident Lucy Koteen said she's afraid of — major new development benefiting top real estate players.

"If we do nothing," Sleeper said in response to Koteen — meaning, if the BQX is not built — "tremendous development" would still come to Brooklyn-Queens waterfront.

"You can't not invest along this waterfront," he continued. "It is dense and growing very rapidly."

The EDC and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are currently evaluating the project's feasibility. That said, Sleeper has said the EDC views the idea favorably, while at a recent public meeting, DOT head Polly Trottenberg effectively endorsed the train.

As has been the case with past public meetings, Monday's discussion aimed to record residents' thoughts on a series of key questions, including how they commute, how and when they use public transit, where they think the BQX should and shouldn't run, and what train design they favor.

Commute times for downtown residents.

John Dew, who chair's the transportation committee of Community Board 2, said he thinks "the [BQX] concept is a good one," though he wanted to know more about how several years of construction would impact local traffic and quality of life.

Dew also said the system should be extended to LaGuardia Airport, adding with a smile, "Then I can start flying again."

A Harlem resident who said he works in Dumbo and Astoria but declined to provide a name said the city should instead invest in new transit in communities like East New York.

"These are some of the wealthiest areas," he said, referring to the waterfront communities the BQX would run through, "and they don't need any more help."

Ed Brown, a former resident of the Ingersoll Houses who now is a consultant for women and minority-owned businesses, said the BQX was "a great idea," as long as it will mean construction and maintenance jobs for the constituencies he works with.

Brown also suggested creating a shuttle system to bring inland residents to the BQX, further extending its impact.

And as has come up in past meetings, many of those assembled wanted any train system built to connect to existing transit options. Sleeper agreed, stating that "creating new and better connections to existing subways is critical."

The EDC's next public meeting on the BQX will take place Tuesday night in Sunset Park.