Our community is united in its opposition to DOT’s plan for a 6-lane highway on the Promenade.

While the 75 year old BQE triple cantilever must be rebuilt, we are advocating for better temporary solutions.  The BHA is working with the community, planners, and engineers to develop a better solution and have presented it to DOT and to our City and State elected officials.Read More...

The BHA was extremely heartened by the strong attendance at the Department of Transportation’s September 27 presentation of their proposed approaches to the necessary reconstruction of the BQE. Of the two options, first, a lane-by-lane reconstruction (“Traditional Approach”), and second, a temporary 6-lane highway on the Promenade to expedite reconstruction of the roadway below (“Innovative Approach”), DOT gave clear preference for the second, “Innovative,” option.Read More...

In January 2018, Mayor de Blasio announced a 10-year plan to close the Rikers Island Jail Complex and transfer its reduced jail population to new jails close to courthouses within the boroughs and nearer to the detainees’ families and attorneys. Read More...

The BHA is collecting books to support the NYPD’s initiative to set up a children’s library in each precinct. To promote reading by children, the books will be provided to any child to read or keep.Read More...

The BQE triple cantilever is nearly a quarter century beyond its design life, and to make matters worse, the wear-and-tear from 150,000 vehicles daily, road salt, and water penetration are accelerating its deterioration. Since ongoing repairs are costly, but do not address the highway’s initial design deficiencies, only major reconstruction will extend its life 50-75 years. Its reconstruction will take more than five years to complete starting in the2020s at a cost of nearly $2 billion. NYCDOT has determined that by 2026 the segment from Atlantic Avenue to Sands Street, including the triple cantilever, will no longer support the weight of trucks. If the reconstruction is not completed by then, 16,000 trucks daily will have to be re-routed onto local streets. Their diversion will create massive traffic congestion and imperil the health and safety of residents throughout Brooklyn. An implementation approach, called Design-Build, which is in widespread use nationally, would allow the project to be completed before this diversion becomes necessary and at a significant cost savings. Its use must be authorized by the State legislature, which has not yet passed this measure.Read More...

The final court hearing on the BHA’s lawsuit to prevent the construction of two residential towers on Pier 6 concluded on November 15th.  Justice Carmen Victoria St. George of NYS Supreme Court presided over four days of hearings after her assignment to the case last summer. During this period she continued the attempts of the prior assigned judge to reach a settlement, but was no more successful. Justice St. George will now make a final ruling on the lawsuit.Read More...

On August 4th, Justice Lucy Billings granted a preliminary injunction barring the developers at Pier 6 from undertaking any construction "that is irreversible or incapable of restoration to its original condition" pending the Court's eventual final ruling on the merits of the the BHA's Petition.  Justice Billings subsequently made public a written decision (Preliminary Injunction Ruling)memorializing her order, which reiterates her August 4th oral statement that to the extent the developers continue construction activities in this period, they will have to "proceed at their own peril" and that any construction activity that takes place before the new judge, Justice St. George,  issues the final ruling on the merits of the BHA's Petition "will not affect the court's determination of the petition." Read More...

The State’s legislative session ended on June 21st leaving much important business unfinished.  Of critical importance to Brooklyn Heights, and to the entire region, was the State Legislature’s failure to authorize the City’s use of “design build” in undertaking the rehabilitation of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.  As a “creature of the State”, the State must specifically delegate to the City the authority to use this approach in its infrastructure projects. 

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At the NYC Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Open House on June 28th, members of the Design Team that will be developing and assessing design options for the $1.9 billion BQE Rehabilitation Project met with community residents to answer questions and hear their concerns. Read More...

Clark Street Station to be closed on weekends till Spring 2018

Starting on Friday, June 16th, reconstruction of the Clark St Tube will be in effect every weekend. Service through the tunnel will be stopped from 11:45 p.m. Fridays until 5 a.m. Mondays. Work is expected to last until the Spring of 2018. The Clark Street Station will be closed, and no  or  trains will be stopping at Borough Hall.Read More...

In January, the NYC Department of Finance (DOF) released actual market valuations and assessments for the recently-completed properties in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The new data supports the BHA’s legal claim that the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation (BBPC) misled its Board, which led to the Board approving the construction of two residential towers on Pier 6.Read More...

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is poised to designate 181 and 185 Montague Street as individual landmarks in January 2017. The LPC’s action would protect the buildings from inappropriate exterior changes or demolition. Read More...

After failing to gain support among the community for the redevelopment of the LICH site that would have likely included affordable housing, a public school, and retail space, but also been considerably larger than what current zoning permits, Fortis announced in November 2016 that it would build the As-Of-Right (AOR) Plan.Read More...