Construction on the Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar, a potential legacy project for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, was supposed to begin in 2019. The fate of the heavily debated project will rest with the next mayor.
"A 16-mile streetcar line along the East River in Brooklyn and Queens was going to be one of Mayor Bill de Blasio's signature projects, expanding transportation access to neighborhoods like Red Hook that are relatively far from the subway," writes Dan Rivoli.
But with the original expected construction date already well past, Mayor de Blasio has conceded that the fate of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector will rest with the city's next mayor, who will be elected in 2021.
"The project has faced mounting challenges, including questions about de Blasio's plan to pay for it with tax revenues from new development along the line. Three years ago, he downsized the plan to 11 miles, but raised the cost and called for federal financing," explains Rivoli of the numerous roadblocks the streetcar was navigating before the pandemic. Since the pandemic, the project has ground to a halt.
NY1 reached out to nine Democratic candidates for mayor, finding just one, Loree Sutton, who vowed to build the streetcar. Sutton has since dropped out of the race.
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