NYC DOT staff will present the DOT's four-part plan for the BQE next Tuesday September 14th at 6pm at the Brooklyn Community Board 2 Transportation Committee meeting. Everyone is encouraged to attend and learn more - the meeting will take place online and more details about how to log on can be found on the CB2 calendar. (Just click on the September 14th Transportation Committee Meeting link on the calendar.) A copy of DOT's presentation can be found here. 

Repair of the Hicks Street Wall is nearing completion and should be finished this fall. We appreciate the timely and generally excellent work done by the DOT on this project. Certainly any construction project will have some nuisance aspects, but we are pleased by the responsiveness and general care taken to minimize neighborhood impact. 

As many of you know, the lanes on the BQE have been reduced from three to two in both directions between Atlantic Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge. The BHA has been hearing and seeing a variety of reports related to traffic/travel time on the BQE but the data are still being collected. What we haven't observed is an increase of trucks or cars on our neighborhood streets - let us know what you are seeing!

The MTA's construction contractor will have a street presence for this project beginning the week of October 25, 2021. Materials and equipment will be staged in two locations - the west side of Henry Street from Clark Street to Pineapple Street will be the main portion of the staging area and will include a trailer with offices for the project. The staging area is not to impede the bike lane, and on occasions where the bike lane is temporarily impeded, there will be flaggers on the street. However, this does mean there will be no parking available on this block. A second, smaller staging area is permitted for the north corner of Clark Street between Henry Street and Hicks Street.

All construction activity will be scheduled from 7:00am - 6:00pm on weekdays, and the vast majority of work will be done within the Clark Street station. The MTA tells us that the only street noise that will be associated with the project will be generators utilized for the interior work; this noise will be primarily heard during the first 8-10 weeks of the project, but will not occur on an ongoing or regular basis. No street activity will take place on weekends or evenings unless it is needed, and the community will be informed in advance.

There will no doubt be some inconvenience and hassle associated with this project; however, the end result will be three new elevators for the station. Please be in touch with the BHA if you have questions and concerns and we will work with the MTA and our local elected officials as necessary to resolve any problems. 

The MTA will work with the businesses in and around the station to understand their needs and concerns for the duration of the project, and it will be up to us as neighborhood consumers to be sure we continue to patronize and support them during this time.