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More green space may be headed to Brooklyn, at least with one plan for the much-needed restoration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE).
BQGreen, a plan to create a “park out of thin air” by extending a concrete platform over a portion of the BQE expressway, has seen a recent surge in public support, after over a decade of planning.
The greenway would run below street level in South Williamsburg, between South Third and South Fifth Streets, integrating nearby micro parks Marcy Green and Rodney Park. The design, which already won 2014's New York Design Award for Urban Design, would create 3.5 acres of open space with a flower garden, a playground, a baseball diamond, barbecues, grassy and wooded areas, an indoor pool and a water play zone.
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Below, see renderings of what it could look like if plans go forward.
The BQE, originally opened in 1954 according to a design by Robert Moses, is in need of some repairs. Most of the 20-mile highway is owned by New York State, but New York City owns a 1.5-mile stretch named BQE Central. About 129,000 vehicles travel on the BQE every day, and making the roadway worse for wear, and in desperate need of repair.
The stretch of highway where BQGreen would be built falls under the state’s jurisdiction. In mid-June, Brooklyn officials met near the site of the proposed park to request assistance and funds from the state to help with these infrastructure improvements.
“We’re asking that the state move less than the bare minimum,” said Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is petitioning for BQGreen to become a reality. “The bare minimum would be co-applying with the city for the federal funding to reimagine the BQE in its entirety from top to bottom, but we’ve tried that and we’ve heard nothing. We’ve heard ‘no’ from the state, so today we’re asking for even less than that because we have the plan, we have the community support. All we need now is the state to help make the BQGreen a reality.”