OPINION: Waterfront streetcar plan has obstacles to overcome, despite de Blasio’s boost
On Feb. 4, as readers of this site know, Mayor Bill de Blasio endorsed a proposal (first reported by the Eagle about a year ago) to build a streetcar line between Astoria and Sunset Park, serving the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront.
With the mayor’s endorsement, a plan that has been bubbling under the surface for a year or two has suddenly taken center stage.
The $2.5 billion plan, known as the Brooklyn Queens Connector, is the project of a nonprofit called, appropriately, the Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector. It has some heavy hitters on its board, such as Doug Steiner, Fred Wilson and Helena Durst. A study of the project was spearheaded by well-known traffic planner Sam “Gridlock Sam” Schwartz.
According to DNA Info, the connector would require an estimated $26 million in annual operating costs, but could bring in an estimated $3.7 billion in tax revenue. It will definitely benefit Brooklyn’s waterfront communities, especially Red Hook, where the nearest subway station is on the other side of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.