Brooklyn, NY – Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10), and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) today released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded a $5.6 million grant to advance visioning of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) North and South corridors.

“We are grateful to the Biden Administration for answering our call and recognizing the critical importance of rectifying the generations of harm caused by the BQE to the Brooklyn communities we represent.

“This grant is the catalyst we need to finally put together a comprehensive plan to reimagine the entire BQE corridor and to address environmental justice issues that plague the northern and southern portions of the expressway.

“Our offices will work to ensure this is just the beginning of the federal government’s investment in the BQE with fairness and justice at the forefront.”

The “BQE Connects: Advancing the BQE North and South Corridor Vision” grant will go towards advancing a set of concept proposals to improve access and reduce the environmental, social, and economic burdens for disadvantaged communities along the North and South spans of the BQE corridor and reconnect communities that have been divided by the structure for decades. 

Grant funds will help develop evaluation criteria to concept proposals, and then complete conceptual design for said proposals, as well as fund community engagement throughout the project.

In September, Democratic Leader Jeffries and Congressmembers Goldman and Velázquez highlighted the importance of this project and specifically requested that Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg prioritize this federal grant.

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