Trolley Ain't No Gravy Train

INSIDE: GET THE RIGHT RESULTS WITH OUR CLASSIFIEDS SECTION Yo u r World — Yo u r News BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260–2500 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2016 Serving Brownstone Brooklyn, Williamsburg & Greenpoint AWP/14 pages • Vol. 39, No. 49 • December 2–8, 2016 • FREE BILLION $ MILE Planned BQE repairs to be most expensive in city history By Lauren Gill Brooklyn Paper It’s Brooklyn’s billion-dol- lar mile! The city’s much-needed repair of the decrepit 1.5-mile Brooklyn Heights stretch of the Brooklyn– Queens Expressway will be the most expensive project in Depart- ment of Transportation history at a whopping $1.7 billion, according to officials. That’s $17,887 an inch, or $214,646 a foot, or $704,225 a FIXING meter — any way you measure Photo by Jordan Rathkopf it, it’s a lot of money for a short the BQE Elf Emily Season poses for the perfect selfie with Cobble Hill’s Karen Moshman. stretch of road. The expressway’s triple cantilever bridge — a three-tiered stretch fic on the elevated roadway open that hangs below the fabled Prome- in both directions will remain open nade and carries some 140,000 ve- at any given time. hicles per day — is nearly 70 years File photo by Evan Gardner But parts of the Promenade may GO UP TO ELVEN The triple cantilever looks pretty crummy, and it is going to have to close during the repairs, old and already a decade past its expected lifespan, and engineers cost $1.7 billion to fix. agency reps said. Heights shoppers snap ‘elﬁ es’ and donate say it must get a makeover soon Some locals say they’d rather before things get dangerous. just tear the whole noisy, fume- government says it will cover some Repairs are slated to begin by filled structure down and build holiday season. as part of Small Business Sat- The state controls the full high- By Lauren Gill of the moolah itself, although it 2024 and wrap up in 2029 — al- a nice quiet tunnel instead, but Brooklyn Paper “It was very cute, it’s Christ- urday — an event that encour- way, but the city is technically responsible for maintaining the won’t say how much. though they could kick off as early the city claims that would cost Call them elf portraits! mas, it was a nice thing to do,” ages people to shop locally after For comparison, the city spent a as 2020 and finish by 2026 if state even more money and the bridge said Cobble Hill resident Karen Black Friday. tri-level thoroughfare between At- A pair of Santa’s elves took lantic Avenue and Sands Street, mere $600 million fixing up the Wil- lawmakers pass a bill allowing wouldn’t last the length of time a break from their busy Christ- Moshman, who sent her photo to Moshman dropped off socks in and Albany is refusing to kick liamsburg Bridge in the 1990s . the city to use the same contrac- it’d take to burrow. mas preparations to snap selfies her very impressed family and a box — others kicked in gloves, in any cash — even though state The full reconstruction of the tor for design and construction, City workers looked inside the with any kind-hearted shopper friends. “I’m not very good at hats, and scarves — which will be transportation officials had been antique span could take as long according to the city. cantilever this summer for the first who visited Montague Street in selfies so the elf took the selfie donated to kids across school dis- planning to fund and perform the as five years but won’t get under- Regardless, the triple cantile- time ever , where they found the Brooklyn Heights bearing warm for me — so it was really a selfie trict 13 — encompassing Brook- repairs back in 2011 before decid- way for awhile. City transportation ver will stay in operation for the concrete had been worn down by clothes for the less fortunate on by the elfie.” lyn Heights, Fort Greene, Clin- ing it was too expensive . honchos began consulting with lo- entirety of the pricey reconstruc- freezing winters, and the structure Saturday, and participants say the The Montague Street Business ton Hill, Dumbo, Park Slope, Local pols and officials are still cals this summer and plan to re- tion, officials promised residents could deteriorate even more rap- “elf promotion” was an appropri- Improvement District organized Downtown, and parts of Bed- hoping to get Gov. Cuomo to shell lease a preliminary design for the at a meeting in November — Fur- idly with a few more frosty sea- ate and great way to ring in the the visit from St. Nick’s helpers ford-Stuyvesant. out some clams, and the federal overhaul by 2019. man Street and three lanes of traf- sons, transportation reps say. Trolley ain’t no gravy train Atlantic Avenue merchants say streetcar will ruin business By Lauren Gill business they’re already doing. Customers also drive from far Brooklyn Paper HELLO, TROLLEY! Atlantic Avenue currently has and wide to patronize the stretch’s They’re trolley dodging! two traffic lanes and one lane of many specialty stores, and they Atlantic Avenue merchants are THE STREETCAR PLAN curbside parking in either direc- depend on parking space, another railing against the city’s plan to run tion. The streetcar will need at least merchant claimed. streetcars along the bustling retail sending the streetcar along Atlan- 22 feet — approximately the same “We’re not just local busi- corridor and truck route, which tic Avenue between Court Street width as two standard travel lanes nesses, people come to us, we’re they believe will take away park- and Henry, Hicks, or Columbia — to run in both directions, which a destination. I always need to ing for customers and block vans streets is the only connection be- will need to come by eliminating have parking available,” said Mat- from making deliveries, and are tween Cobble Hill to Downtown lanes, parking, or the strip’s 20- thew LaSorsa, who owns wine urging officials to find a differ- they’re proposing right now , as foot sidewalks, according to the shop Heights Chateau at Henry ent place for it. they hold meetings with commu- head of the project. Street. “There should be other “Atlantic Avenue is already nity boards to discuss and finalize Whelan depends on nightly alternatives that should be ex- so crazy, we have concerns the route by early next year. truck deliveries and drop-offs plored.” about where the cars are going Regardless, they say, the Brook- from a tractor trailer once a week, Discussions about how park- Brinckerhoff Parsons to, where the trucks are going to lyn–Queens Connector will ulti- and said that adding a curb-side ing will be configured on each This is a rendering of the streetcar on Berry Street in Williamsburg, but you get the idea. go,” said Christine Whelan, who mately be a boon to local enter- streetcar to Atlantic Avenue could block are still some time away, but owns famed Middle Eastern gro- prise, claiming similar systems make it difficult for her suppli- the city is planning on working The head of the street’s busi- project last week to voice their ob- they were receptive,” she said. “I cer Sahadi’s between Court and have boosted business in other ers to reach her store and to un- closely with the people and business improvement district, the At- jections. The honchos were will- would love to hear some realistic, Clinton streets. streetcar-using cities. load food. nesses it will affect, said Anthony lantic Avenue Betterment Associ- ing to take their issues on board, practical alternatives.” Officials claim they’re still ex- But traders on the already-popu- “If I can’t get merchandise Hogrebe of the city’s Economic ation, Whelan, and another local Whelan said, but also didn’t pro- The city expects to start build- ploring various paths for Mayor lar strip say it seems like the change here, I’m not going to survive,” Development Corporation, which business owners met with reps pose any other options. ing the streetcar system in 2019 DeBlasio’s $2.5 billion trolley, but will just get in the way of the brisk she said. is overseeing the project. from city agencies involved in the “We shared our concerns and and have it running in 2024. Message parlor City Hall e-mails get behind curtain of failed Democratic Convention bid By Ruth Brown neighborhood, Rosen’s staff quickly Brooklyn Paper penned letters to the editor on behalf of They’re telling Mayor Tall tales! willing local restaurants and bars, em- City Hall public relations staff and ad- phasizing the business boost the event visors scrambled to push positive press would create. and “isolate” local criticism during their “How many do we have ready to pitch failed bid to secure the 2016 Democratic a counter story to NY1 or another outlet National Convention for Barclays Cen- — we need to isolate Norman and these ter — going so far as to pen letters of en- groups?” Rosen wrote, likely referring to dorsement on behalf of local businesses another article that day by former Brook- and digging up dirt on rival cities — ac- lyn Paper reporter Dana Rubinstein re- cording to newly released e-mails. laying similar concerns from neighbors. The January 2015 communications “Tweets from local business people we between DeBlasio’s flacks and his unof- can start rolling now?” ficial press guru Jonathan Rosen — also He also suggested having local en- the publicist for the Prospect Heights trepreneurs tweet at Rubinstein and the arena, and whose missives Hizzoner possibility of Borough President Adams and former Borough President Marty Just a selection of spinmeisters’ communication during the city’s failed has tried to keep under wraps — offer bid to bring the Democratic National Convention to Barclays.

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