Governor Kathy Hochul wants New York City to more aggressively reclaim its waterfront for public park space — and she thinks that the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn is precisely the place to start.
Hochul wants to demolish more than 2.2 miles of limited access highway that runs along the edge of New York Harbor, creating a barrier between the waterfront and the vibrant Bay Ridge neighborhood. That traffic would be accommodated with new access ramps from the I-278 to the eastbound Belt Parkway.
Hundreds of acres of land would be repurposed from asphalt lanes to grassy lawns, lush vegetation, and leafy green spaces — something of an urban paradise for families, children, joggers, and waterfront enthusiasts.
“The quality of life impacts to the neighborhood will be enormous,” one Hochul operative asserts. “This is how we build healthier, more livable communities.”
Hochul believes that cities should prioritize the quality of life of their neighborhoods, and believes that improved public access to the waterfront should be a major public priority.
“One of Kathy’s main longer-term objectives as Governor will be to undo some of the damage that was done by Robert Moses and other bureaucrats who severed much of the city from our waterfront by prioritizing automobiles at the expense of neighborhood residents,” he explains.
“Kathy follows the work of Richard Florida, who believes that the revolution in remote work will make cities a place where people move to connect and create, and perhaps not so much a place where people aspire to commute as-we-know it,” he explains. “That reinforces her belief that we should be building cities for people, not automobiles.”
The operative confirms that Hochul plans to make “historic” investments in New York City’s mass transit system — a massive modernization and expansion in the ballpark of $60 billion over ten years.
Coupled with congestion pricing, urban planners are confident that the roadway’s removal will not substantially impact traffic patterns.
With her push to get rid of highways like the Belt Parkway through Bay Ridge, and thus decreaee mobility, the new governor is off to a bad start. The faddish agenda of the so-called “new urbanists” is never a winner.
Spoken by someone that probably doesn’t live in the area much less NYC. As a person that does, I welcome having better access to the water without the noise pollution and actual pollution. People in the neighborhood are excited to hear about positive changes in the area.
I live in Bay Ridge and this idea is stupid. You would need eminent domain to get the land to built the new eat bound lanes to go from the Belt Parkway to the BQE.
I live in the area and drive that stretch of road often. There’s never much traffic in that stretch between the bridge and the BQE. It’s really just a speed trap for cops that like to hide behind the stands of trees. I’m all for this. We’d actually have some nice waterfront that doesn’t all smell like the sewage treatment over past Owls Head.
Wow is Gov Hochul making an incredibly powerful statement about the kind of leader she intends to be. This is fantastic and has sweeping implications in waterfront communities that have long been victim to Moses’ legacy.
This will never happen. This talk is to pacify extremist groups who want to take away all cars. But I like the idea.
I pray you are right, This sounds like a collaboration between her and diBlasio to finish destroying NYC.
Disclaimer: This comment was not written by James Johnson of the Narrows Botanical Gardens and all claims in it are false. The post is being investigated so further action can be taken.
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Dear Gov. Hochul:
They just finished the Belt Parkway.
Can we get a year or two without construction impeding our lives?
Let this issue play out in Bay Ridge and let them decide.
Governor you have no idea on the amount of rush hour traffic there is now. You’re going to make it worse. Before you decide to work with diBlasio to finish destroying NYC, can you please get behind the wheel of a car and personally drive during rush hour on the roads you are looking to change. Drive during morning and evening rush hours. You will be creating a disaster. FYI – I am 63 and have lived in Brooklyn 63 years.
I thank God everyday that I left NYC in the 90s!
This sounds good, I want to expand my illegal farm and plant more crops along side a busy highway , it’s a win.
Awesome idea, I can continue to evade taxes and not pay NYC dump fees …sounds great!!
This sounds great, i need more space to walk around aimlessly in while enjoying full flavored tobacco!
OMG!!! OMG!!!. OMG!!! Bruce did you hear this!!!
I love my farm on shore rd, I pay no taxes on my land and my crops are sold for profit. I have fresh eggs, honeybees, even a colorful pet wood pecker that i simply adore, his name is Big Woody! Stop by the farm and say howdy neighbor! EE EYE EEE EYE OHH, it’s time for me to go!!!