BQX Streetcar Not Funded In City Budget, Report Says

BROOKLYN, NY — A proposed streetcar that would link Brooklyn and Queens along the waterfront was left out of the city's budget proposal, likely stretching the planning of the system by a year, Crain's New York reported.

The Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) was not added to the Economic Development Corporation's final budget proposal, even though the project needs about $40 million to start two preliminary studies to move forward, Crain's reported. The lack of funding could mean the agency needs to wait until the next year to get the money to move the project forward.

The BQX was originally scheduled to start its public-review process by the end of last year, but it stalled while the city finishes a study on the costs, revenue and feasibility of the streetcar.

Officials told the City Council on Monday that the study still hasn't been completed, but should be soon, Crain's reported.

The 14-mile waterfront line would run through Astoria, Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, DUMBO, Cobble Hill Carroll Gardens and Sunset Park. The streetcar would be on the street level and plans call to build ramps making it more wheelchair-accessible than the subway system.

Activists for the plan previously said it could service about 400,000 residents and the city said it would eventually pay for itself. However, a leaked memo found that the $2.5 billion project might never be able to generate enough revenue to be sustainable and inflation could drive construction costs up to $100 million a year, Politico reported.

Image: Kathleen Culliton/Patch