Make your voice heard on the BQX

New York is a city built on its public transportation – a vast network of trains, buses, ferries and now Citi Bikes. Yet even here there are many communities that are transit deserts, where access to jobs, health care, parks and recreation is limited because the subway isn’t convenient or the bus service not reliable.

And since our subway system hasn’t added a new line in generations, communities left behind typically stay that way. The MTA is in the process of spending billions of dollars to expand the subway and commuter rails, with the first phase of the Second Avenue subway and the effort to bring the Long Island Rail Road into Grand Central Terminal. (And they are smartly investing billions in maintenance so the system does not further deteriorate.) These are very worthwhile projects, but they are focused on Manhattan while other boroughs continue to grow at unprecedented rates.

Mayor de Blasio’s plans to bring a state-of-the-art streetcar to the East River waterfront, running from Astoria in Queens to Sunset Park in Brooklyn, are an exciting development for outer-borough commuters. When we think of the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront, it’s easy to see shiny new condos in Williamsburg and Long Island City, but the reality is that economic growth has largely skipped neighborhoods like Red Hook and Ravenswood, and many places in between that are underserved by transit. There are more than 40,000 NYCHA residents in this corridor, suffering from some of the longest commutes in the city. At the same time, burgeoning job centers like the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Industry City are not easily accessible to many communities. About a third of the land area along the route is in an Industrial Business Zone as well as more than 53 million square feet of industrial and manufacturing-zoned space, much of it underutilized and ripe for future job growth.

As New Yorkers we will disagree about the best ways to make use of limited transit investments with so many priorities to address. Fortunately the BQX won’t compete with any of them, generating enough economic value to pay for its own construction. Simply put, these funds won’t exist without the BQX; therefore, they can’t be used for other projects or priorities. The resources will be there if we build the BQX and are not contingent on some pie-in-the sky projections on new construction, either. It’s incredibly rare that a project of this magnitude can be built without going through the arduous process of securing funding from the federal or state government, presenting a vital opportunity for the residents of Brooklyn and Queens.

So let’s do this and help draw a new line on New York’s transit map. The city is holding visioning sessions throughout the corridor that began this month and continue through the end of June. There are many details still to be finalized – we need assurances the streetcar corridor will be resilient in flood-prone areas, integrated with the MetroCard and operate in dedicated lanes to avoid traffic as often as possible. It’s critical that we make our voices heard on how the BQX can best serve those who have been left out by the existing transportation network.

If we’ve learned anything from the impending closure of the L train for post-Superstorm Sandy repairs, it’s that aging infrastructure makes us very vulnerable. The economic impact on communities and businesses along the L train and the people who depend on that route every day will be devastating. We need more transit options, not fewer, especially in communities that are already vastly underserved. The BQX is a much-needed solution that will enable greater access to employment opportunities and most importantly, will create a more equitable city for New Yorkers living in neighborhoods along the waterfront in Brooklyn and Queens.

I encourage all New Yorkers to get involved in the planning process and to explore the possibilities that will result from finally connecting our city’s fastest growing communities.

Ya-Ting Liu is the executive director of the Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, a nonprofit organization committed to improving public transportation and economic opportunity on the East River waterfront.