Saturday, July 1, 2017

BQX = gentrification

From the Daily News:

Rather than wrestle with real congestion problems, Mayor de Blasio is pushing an expensive boutique project for new transit infrastructure that will fail to address any of the city’s most pressing transit needs or significantly reduce traffic congestion.

The Brooklyn-Queens Connector, or BQX, would run from Astoria in Queens to Sunset Park in Brooklyn. It is the brainchild of a group of developers who are sprouting luxury towers on the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront. They corralled celebrities and willing non-profit groups to create Friends of the BQX, a vanity group set up by the developers . The mayor is using the city’s time and money to close the deal with this group.

It is time the city proposed long-term solutions that go beyond absurdly expensive projects like the Second Ave. Subway, No. 7 extension and BQX, which are more about promoting high-end real estate development than solving transportation problems.

A serious bus rapid transit system (Select Bus Service is a modest beginning) and improvements to pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure need to be part of the plan. The city must look many decades ahead and not just to the next election, and beyond the 20-30 years during which developers typically recover their investments.

Finally, it makes no sense to sink billions of dollars into a trolley line lying in one of the city’s most vulnerable flood plains. No one can be certain how many feet the waters will rise in decades to come. The added costs of elevating buildings, protecting infrastructure and buying flood insurance will be considerable. Protecting the BQX rails at street level during floods would be difficult if not impossible.

12 comments:

JQ LLC said...

Apologies to all for blatant self-promotion but I wrote about De Faustio's unabated asinine pursuit for this bullshit.

https://impunitycity.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/fare-beaten-mayor-big-slow-de-blasios-big-ass-budget-denies-discount-metrocards-for-poor-and-rent-burdened-commuters/

His debt to the REBNY overlords of overrated Brooklyn continues unabated at the detriment of the constituency. Primary this pathetic slob.

By the way, the feds should get a warrant to wiretap the Park Slope Y he works out in. Going by the recent footage of him being confronted by an activist of him doing yoga wearing a cargo shorts and a belt(!!!), his daily workout routine looks like a ruse.

Anonymous said...

While I am against this in principle based on cost and government contracts, that pic does look pretty cool!

Anonymous said...

Enough with this dog and pony show from deBozo. How about we actually start by seriously tackling the troubles facing the system we have!! Delays are out of control and frustration is growing each day - nobody cares about this stupid hipster streetcar shit

Anonymous said...

Boutique project?

More like corruption galore.
They can't even fix the current system, now is time for a "boutique project"?

Anonymous said...

The traffic on our roads and the over crowding on our transit system will effect everyone.
All this was caused by poor urban planing and greed and it will only get worse unless we the people vote for term limits.

"US Term Limits stands up against government malpractice. We are the voice of the American citizen. We want a government of the people, by the people, and for the people- not a ruling class who care more about deals to benefit themselves, than their constituents."

Link : https://www.termlimits.com/about/

georgetheatheist said...

I can't imagine Mayor Wagner doing yoga.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how much money the 1st person to get hit by this trolley will sue for?

Anonymous said...

Better put a cow catcher on the front of that thing.

Anonymous said...

We should just bring back our street cars. We had one that would run from Laguardia airport to the lower part of brooklyn. Look up the old maps.

Anonymous said...

Enough of this term limits - we need the public engaged. They will crap all over you again and again until you grow a pair and start doing something about it.

I just don't understand. Talk is cheap. The problems are obvious. Its clear to everyone that our politicians (when its all said and done) are not that bright.

But as long as your find excuses not to get off your arses and do something you deserve to eat all the crap they feed you. And stop saying you cannot stop City Hall. Those words you utter make that a truth, not something they do.

Nitwits.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous " we need the public engaged"
Yes like voting the bums out of office and replacing them with Patriots !

Anonymous said...

I checked out the link the poster put up and the site really makes a good case for term limits.

https://www.termlimits.com/about/