Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

bqe.JPGThe Brooklyn Paper reports that there's talk brewing about seizing an opportunity to bury the section of the BQE that runs underneath the Promenade, rather than simply repair it (right, the Atlantic Ave. overpass where the roadway rises near the site of the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park and the One Brooklyn condo development):

Some Brooklyn Heights residents now want to replace the part of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that runs beneath the famed Promenade with a tunnel. "The beauty of a tunnel is it can [go] anywhere," said Democratic District Leader Jo Anne Simon at a Tuesday meeting with the state transportation officials. The current plan for repairing the busy highway calls for rebuilding the steel and concrete decks, but Simon sees "an opportunity" to fix a "cockamamie" design once and for all, noting that one such tunnel was built beneath the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. A Department of Transportation said the state would "look at a tunnel option if there was a strong consensus that [it] must be looked at."


Photo: Sarah Goodyear

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Anatomy of a Manhunt: How NYPD Quickly Caught a Hit-and-Run Killer on the Lower East Side

Cops used laser-fast technology, old-style gumshoe detective work and a little help from the hapless suspect to make an arrest in last week's hit-and-run.

December 22, 2025

Adams Once Again Delays Pared-Down Protected Bike Lanes In Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

The delay caps the ignominious end of Mayor Adams's reign over the city's Department of Transportation.

December 22, 2025

Streetsies 2025: Advocate(s) of the Year

Little changes on New York City's streets without fighting for it — but who did it best? Please vote for this year's honoree.

December 22, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: Turn-SPIKED! Edition

Gov. Phil Murphy put the kibosh on plans to widen the New Jersey Turnpike east of the Newark Bay Bridge. Plus more news.

December 22, 2025

Cough, Cough: Adams Administration Hands Largest Ever Idling Law Exemption to NJ Charter Bus Company

Academy Bus Lines requested the exemption — the largest in DEP's history — after receiving more than $500,000 in idling violations. But there is some good news.

December 19, 2025

Hochul Vetoes Bill Mandating Two Operators on Most Subway Trains

The veto from Hochul came over the concerns of organized labor who saw the legislation as a way to make subway travel safer.

December 19, 2025
See all posts