Crown Heights Residents Seem Open To Waterfront Street Car

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — One of the largest transit projects proposed for Brooklyn received a generally warm welcome in Crown Heights on Tuesday, as members of Community Board 8 discussed the still-theoretical Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) with Adam Giambrone, the city's top staffer on the project.

As pitched, the BQX light rail train would run along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront for about 16 miles, from Astoria in the north to Sunset Park in the south. An initial city estimate concluded that the system would carry 48,900 people per day by 2035. The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are currently conducting a joint feasibility study on the BQX, due out by the end of March.

None of the BQX's proposed routes would dip into Prospect Heights or Crown Heights, an idea that some CB 8 members said they support. Giambrone also confirmed that a system extension into those communities is not being studied at this time. However, he said the BQX would still benefit those living near the train's corridor, a benefit that will be quantified in the upcoming DOT and EDC report.

Bob Diamond, a BQX project supporter and leader of the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association, asked if the city would petition the Donald Trump administration for federal funding to support an expansion of the project, considering Trump's professed interest in infrastructure investments. Giambrone said his team is "focused on the nuts and bolts" of the project as currently envisioned, and isn't involved federal relations.

Asked about the impact of the train on residential properties, Giambrone said light rail systems, dozens of which exist around the country, are "incredibly quiet" and are "designed to limit vibrations" so as not to disturb buildings or residents.

He said that if built, the train would likely run down many streets that currently have two lanes of traffic and two lanes of parking. As a result, some reduction in traffic flow or parking would be needed, a trade-off the city would have to decide was worth the BQX's benefits to commuters.

In response to a common question — Will the BQX offer a free transfer to and from the MTA system? — Giambrone said that "you need to have good data to enter into that discussion," meaning more precise ridership and route data. That analysis is currently under way, he said, though he added that, "our hope is that you would be able to do that [free] transfer."

Because the BQX would be built in flood zones, meeting attendees wanted to know more about the train's ability to operate following storms. Giambrone noted that light rail systems work well in many northern cities, like Toronto, that have more snow than New York. He also said that light rail service is easy to restore after flooding, assuming that power is still on along their route. He also said the system's construction would incorporate resiliency measures, such as lifting critical electric infrastructure above the floodplain.

Prospect Heights resident Tom Boast asked whether it makes sense to build the system into Sunset Park, considering it would likely run parallel to the R train, rather than connecting to it.

"It just seems like people in that corridor already have mass transit service," he added.

Giambrone said that his responsibility is to analyze the entire BQX corridor as currently proposed, delivering "a fulsome, detailed report" to policymakers "that lays out the benefits [and] costs" of the train's route. He also suggested that peoples' transit habits could change once new options are introduced.

The initial city estimate of the BQX proposal concluded that 1,327 daily rides would originate in Sunset Park:

Graph via EDC and DOT (click to enlarge)

Another local, Alan Gerber, questioned whether the waterfront corridor was the best place to make a transit investment, considering the needs of other borough residents, like those along Utica Avenue, who "would love to ride something faster and more spacious."

"The lack of a street car has not been holding back economic development in Williamsburg," Gerber said. "People buying luxury apartments will take Uber home anyway."

In the meeting, Giambrone said that part of the answer to the question related to "the value capture element of the project." New York has proposed funding the project using an approach known alternatively as "value capture" or "tax increment financing (TIF)." Under the system, the BQX would be constructed using about $2.5 billion in bonds that would then be paid off by collecting a portion of the property taxes paid along the train's route, taxes the BQX would help generate by increasing local property values. Doing so would allow the BQX to be build without relying on state or federal funds.

Asked later if this was the major reason why the waterfront corridor was being considered for a light rail — if a TIF simply couldn't work elsewhere — Giambrone said he couldn't give a definitive answer, considering that any proposed TIF-funded project requires careful study. Economic development experts with the EDC "are literally going block by block" right now to determine whether a TIF will work for the proposed BQX route, he said.

More broadly, he said investing in transit infrastructure in one place doesn't mean the city is ignoring it elsewhere.

"No major city has one transportation project that solves all of its problems," Giambrone said. "Every city, including New York, has a multi-pronged strategy for dealing with transportation. If [the conversation] becomes this or that, you end up in a perpetual cycle of debate."

After Giambrone's presentation, Dr. Fred Monderson, the longstanding chair of CB 8's transit committee, offered praise for the BQX.

"The population of the city of Brooklyn is rising, and we have to make allowances for those people," Monderson said.

The EDC will host its first public telephone town hall to discuss the BQX on Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. Those interested in listening in, or registering an opinion or asking a question, can call 877-229-8493, and enter PIN 115628.

Pictured at top: Adam Giambrone. Photo by John V. Santore