Nicole Anderson discusses plans to create a "funderpass" to "ameliorate the awkward neighborhood divisions caused by the BQE." Are a catchy name and new amenities enough to mend the tear in the city fabric caused by the elevated expressway?
Between Brooklyn's reborn waterfront and its charming neighborhoods stands an unloved relic of last century's boom in elevated urban highways. Now, a local BID and the city of New York are working together to help gussy up the gloomy underside of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. According to Anderson, "[t]he Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) just received a grant for $75,000 from the NYC Department of Small Business Services to create what they’re calling a 'funderpass' that will turn the dreary BQE underpass into a pedestrian-friendly passageway, which provides a direct connection between the shops and businesses on Atlantic Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Pier 6."
"The Atlantic Avenue BID will team up with the Design Trust for Public Space to redesign the underpass to include wall murals by Groundswell, and new amenities such as a bike service station, seating, lighting improvements, and prominent wayfinding signage."
More drastic fixes for the 50 year old relic of the Moses era have been proposed over the last few years, apparently without much success.
"BID hopes to finalize the design and possibly implement these changes by the end of 2013."
Read the full story: Brooklyn to Create Pedestrian Friendly “Funderpass” Beneath BQE Expressway
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