Sunset Park Residents Demand Answers on Brooklyn-to-Queens Streetcar

Pictured: Polly Trottenberg, center, listens to residents in Sunset Park. Photo by John V. Santore

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — It's not every day that the heads of major city agencies engage in prolonged, unscripted dialogues with everyday citizens.

But that's what transpired at Tuesday's public meeting in Sunset Park on the proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) streetcar.

At the meeting, Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the city's Department of Transportation, was drawn into a passionate back-and-forth with locals skeptical of the project's wisdom.

City officials have been holding public "visioning sessions" on the still-theoretical streetcar since May 10, and Tuesday's meeting revealed how many questions some members of the public still want answered.

Here are a few of the key takeaways from the gathering:

What has the city chosen to focus on so far?

The meetings, jointly run by the DOT and the city's Economic Development Corporation (EDC president Maria Torres-Springer was also present Tuesday), have all presented the city's basic pitch for the BQX.

As Torres-Springer summarized, the city believes the light rail system —which as currently envisioned would run from Astoria to Sunset Park along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront — could address growing transit needs throughout the corridor, while connecting workers to new job opportunities, helping the city reduce its carbon emissions, and reducing traffic accidents.

At the meetings, residents have been asked to share where they live, shop, recreate and work, how they use public transit, where they think the BQX should and shouldn't run, and whether they think they would use it if it were built.

Both the EDC and DOT are currently evaluating the project, and will report their findings in the fall. The agencies say the public feedback they have received will help them decide if the BQX is worth building.

Is more public input coming?

Torres-Springer said Tuesday that even if the DOT and EDC decide to recommend the train's construction, the plan would still have to go through a long public approval process, providing plenty of opportunities for further public input.

Trottenberg added that she expects her department to continue engaging with interested parties throughout the summer, though she didn't know what form those meetings would take.

Are the DOT and the EDC definitely going to approve the BQX?

The messages sent by the agencies have been mixed.

The EDC's visioning sessions do ask the public to weigh in on whether the BQX would benefit them, but the agency also uses the sessions to present a series of reasons why the BQX would help the city.

That said, Torres-Springer said Tuesday that the EDC is doing a "real analysis" of alternatives to the plan.

During the meeting, a man named Dan Baer who identified himself as a consultant on the project for the EDC, told residents that the city was "paying me to be agnostic" while assessing whether the project makes sense.

"Nothing is a done deal," Baer said. "This is an alternatives analysis."

During the same back-and-forth, Trottenberg also said the project is "not a done deal that's going forward." If it was, she continued, "why would we be here?"

However, when Patch asked Trottenberg three weeks ago if she thought there was much of a chance the DOT would not approve the BQX, she replied, "I don't think so."

Will the BQX connect to the existing MTA system?

Trottenberg noted Tuesday that the MTA is a state-run agency, meaning the city couldn't decide on its own to set up a free transfer between the systems.

That said, she described a linked system as "a high priority" for her department, and when asked if the city felt BQX riders should be given a free transfer to the MTA, she replied, "Absolutely."

The issue of displacement remains an open question.

As was the case in Brooklyn Heights on Monday, many residents in Sunset Park are concerned that the BQX will drive up local property values so much that existing residents and local businesses will be priced out.

The fear stems from the BQX's proposed funding mechanism, known as "value capture." Through it, the train's estimated $2.5 billion price tag would be funded with bonds to be repaid using a portion of the property taxes collected along the BQX's route. The train, in turn, would increase local property values and hence tax payments, effectively paying for itself.

But if property values go up, could that mean displacement for locals?

The city's presentations haven't delved into the issue. Instead, officials have repeatedly said they hear the concerns, are taking them seriously, and will provide more information in the fall.

On Tuesday, Torres-Springer said that based on its current analysis, the EDC doesn't expect property values to increase much for 1-3 family homes along the BQX's route. Instead, major real estate developers would see their land's value go up the most, she said.

"Displacement is a real issue," Torres-Springer said. "Our response can't be that we stop all efforts to add infrastructure." Instead, she said the city must continue investing in affordable housing and job training to help people afford their neighborhoods.

When will residents learn more about the BQX's impact on property values?

Torres-Springer said more details will be shared in the fall.

"The goal is to make sure we're providing people with information [on] what this means for them," she said.

Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, a privately financed advocacy group pushing for the train, released a study earlier this year predicting "an 8% increase in the value of existing property resulting from proximity to the BQX," as well as "an 8% increase in the value of new development in the corridor."

That estimate was produced by BJH Advisors LLC. So far, however, the Friends group has declined to discuss the calculation in greater detail, and hasn't made analysts from BJH available for an interview.

How were Sunset Park residents feeling about the project?

While Tuesday's crowd featured more skepticism than some other gatherings, a range of opinions was still on display.

Maria Roca, a vocal member of Community Board 7, challenged Trottenberg directly to justify the BQX, considering existing infrastructure and transit needs in the neighborhood.

"Why can't we float bonds to take care of the needs of the working-class and the middle class?" she said.

Trottenberg replied that supporting the BQX doesn't mean the city won't continue developing other transit systems.

Another Sunset Park resident who declined to provide her name praised city officials for coming to the neighborhood, and had good things to say about the BQX itself.

"I have children I'd like to take to the parks," she said. "It would really help us."

Slavatore Tagliaferro, president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America Local 926, said he has 2,533 members who live in Brooklyn, of which 826 live in Sunset Park.

Tagliaferro called for "responsible development," meaning that the BQX would be built by local union labor providing union salaries and benefits.

But he added that he wouldn't support the train if it would contribute to displacement, thus negating any short-term benefits for workers.

Ryan Chavez, the infrastructure coordinator for long-standing Sunset Park community group UPROSE, said his organization is made up of "vigorous proponents of mass- surface transit." Even so, he said the group still has "fundamental concerns" about the project's likely impact on neighborhood affordability, as well as the train's resiliency in the face of future storms.

Headed into the meeting, Sunset Parker Carlos Tupacyupanqui, an Ecuadorian immigrant who works for the MTA, said that while the BQX is a "good idea" in theory, it would "push the low income people from these areas."

He was still on the fence afterward. The train would be beautiful, he said, "but I fear my kids are not going to be able to afford this wonderful area."