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[–><!–>The triple cantilever runs along the edge of Brooklyn Heights, a wealthy and politically connected neighborhood. It stands as a symbol of resistance to Robert Moses, the power broker who rammed highways through communities.–><!–>
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[–><!–>The cantilever, which opened in 1954, was designed to be used for 50 years. The risks only go up as it continues to deteriorate year after year, even as its life span has been extended with interim measures. While city officials and transportation engineers say imminent collapse is not a threat, other catastrophes could still strike, like concrete falling off and hitting vehicles.–><!–>
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[–><!–>In Los Angeles, a plan to widen the 710 Freeway, one of the nation’s busiest freight corridors, was canceled in 2022 amid community opposition. A major street improvement project in Detroit was paused last summer, in part over the public’s concerns about its design, while state officials took another approach. And a Buffalo project championed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to reconnect communities divided by a highway stalled recently after a state court ruled in favor of critics.–><!–>
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–>A highway in decay<!–>
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[–><!–>Even before the latest effort, state transportation officials had sought to rehabilitate the cantilever section in 2006. They dropped the project in 2011, citing fiscal concerns and other priorities. That left the problem to the city.–><!–>
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[–><!–>The triple cantilever was increasingly flagged for potential safety hazards, said Bojidar Yanev, a former city transportation official who oversaw inspections from 1989 to 2018. “The structure was unraveling,” he said.–><!–>
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–>First wave of ideas<!–>
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[–><!–>Mayor de Blasio’s administration presented two options in 2018 to rebuild the cantilever, touching off the fiercest battle over the B.Q.E. since it was built.–><!–>
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–>City’s idea: Temporary highway<!–>
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[–><!–>Furious residents rallied to save the promenade. They raised tens of thousands of dollars to fund their campaign, hired public relations and lobbying consultants, and started a petition that garnered more than 70,000 signatures.–><!–>
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[–><!–>This time, many Brooklyn residents, as well as architects and urban planners, looked to places like San Francisco, Seattle and Rochester, N.Y., that have torn down or repurposed highways to reconnect neighbors and create more housing, parks and transit.–><!–>
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–>Alternative idea: The ‘Tri-Line’<!–>
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[–><!–>Roy Sloane, a graphic artist and advertising executive, advocated for his earlier idea from 2010 for a tunnel, which would help divert traffic away from the cantilever section.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Other notable concepts included one by Bjarke Ingels Group to transform the triple cantilever into “BQ-Park,” a grander version of Mr. Baker’s Tri-Line. The City Council, working with Arup, an engineering firm, floated an idea to demolish the triple cantilever and replace it with athree-mile bypass tunnel.–><!–>
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[–><!–>After hearing from residents, Scott Stringer, then the city comptroller in 2019,jumped in with a proposal to limit the cantilever to trucks, while adding bus and bike lanes and a park.–><!–>
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[–><!–>The panel reported in January 2020 that the cantilever was in worse shape than believed and called for safety measures, including removing two of the six traffic lanes to reduce vehicle weight.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Shortly before leaving office, Mr. de Blasio said the city would postpone a permanent solution and instead spend more than $500 million toshore up the B.Q.E. for 20 years.–><!–>
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[–><!–>After Mr. Adams became mayor in 2022, he decided the B.Q.E. could no longer wait. He hoped to tap into federal infrastructure funds unlocked by the Biden administration and start construction within five years.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Mr. Adams had opposed the city’s temporary highway idea in 2019 as Brooklyn borough president. And his new administration presentedthree new concepts — “The Stoop,” “The Terraces” and “The Lookout” — that shifted the focus to open space.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Vishaan Chakrabarti, an architect and urbanist, said that many of the visions for the B.Q.E. did not fully consider engineering and cost constraints. “Communities get enamoured with ideas that aren’t viable, and then they start thinking worse of the ideas that are viable,” he said.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Since 2022, they have held 30 public meetings about the B.Q.E. In response to feedback, they committed to a plan that would not impact the promenade or Brooklyn Bridge Park, or require taking private property. They helped secure a $5.6 million federal grant to improve neighborhoods along the state-owned sections.–><!–>
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[–><!–>The neighbors saw an opportunity to improve public transit and to reduce the impact of traffic on their health, safety and climate. The dreamers went further and envisioned tearing down the highway for more housing, businesses and parks, and shifting to more sustainable ways to move people and freight. The pragmatists focused on maintaining a vital traffic corridor that would still be needed in the future and fixing a cantilever that had become a safety hazard as soon as possible.–><!–>
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[–><!–>A leading voice of the neighbors was Lara Birnback, the executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, who said the city should develop “a more holistic, forward-thinking solution.” The association, which is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway-Environmental Justice Coalition, has called for a corridorwide plan.–><!–>
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[–><!–>In the dreamer camp was the Institute for Public Architecture, which highlighted the harmful legacy of the B.Q.E. through community meetings, an oral history project and a documentary by Adam Paul Susaneck, an urban planner. The dreamers asked: What would a future without the B.Q.E. look like?–><!–>
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[–><!–>Pragmatists like Samuel I. Schwartz, a former chief engineer for the city Transportation Department who established a transportation research program at Hunter College, urged city officials to immediately fix the cantilever and leave amenities like parks to be added later. He pointed to the Williamsburg Bridge as a cautionary lesson. In April 1988, it was shut down for more than a month after decades of neglect, causing widespread chaos.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Many New York projects have run into opposition, like the $10 billion plan to replace the Port Authority Bus Terminal that was substantially revised last year with community input. “Community opposition is a way of life,” Mr. Schwartz said. “It doesn’t mean we stop.”–><!–>
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[–><!–>In 2024, the Adams administration presented another concept for the B.Q.E. — the city’s third attempt — this time emphasizing an engineering solution: a two-level, stacked highway that would be supported on both sides.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Marc Wouters, an architect and urban planner, countered with yet another idea. In 2019, he had partnered with the Brooklyn Heights Association on a plan to protect the promenade. Since then, he has spent thousands of hours working on his own to take field measurements, build 3-D models and test engineering scenarios.–><!–>
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[–><!–>Last month, Mayor Adams urged Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to start the environmental review process for the B.Q.E., which would consider a range of plans and allow construction to begin in 2029. “After a fix for the B.Q.E. languished for decades, the Adams administration advanced this project further than ever before to build a safe, resilient highway,” said Anna Correa, a spokeswoman for Mr. Adams, this week.–><!–>
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[–><!–>That will not be a quick or easy process. Big hurdles remain, including how to pay for the project. It was passed over for federal funding in 2024 and could cost up to $5 billion, depending on the plan chosen.–><!–>
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