Who thinks the Brooklyn-to-Queens (BQX) would pay for itself? Someone whose paycheck depends on it, Neil deMause argues.
Some boosters of New York's proposed Brooklyn-to-Queens (BQX) streetcar have argued that any spending on the project would just be an investment that would get paid back. Mayor Bill deBlasio and others have said that the value of property near the streetcar would go up, and, they argue, the resulting increase in property tax receipts would "pay off the project’s entire $2.5 billion construction cost, thus getting the city a new light rail line entirely for free," Neil deMause writes for the Village Voice.
This claim does not stand up to scrutiny, according to deMuse: "Investigation of the economic studies underpinning the streetcar’s finances, along with interviews with development and transit experts and the project’s planners, finds that the city’s contention that the BQX would pay its own way relies on untenably optimistic assumptions and creative bookkeeping."
Read the full story: Betting On De Blasio's $2.5 Billion Streetcar Paying For Itself Is “A Recipe For Disaster"
Brooklyn-Queens Connector Streetcar Plans Released
Plans for the Brooklyn-Queens Connector, otherwise known as the BQX, are still on the table, despite reports of the project's demise.
MIA or DOA? The Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Fading Fast
The lack of news on the proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) is hardly a death knell, but that doesn't mean no news is good news, either.
More Details of Brooklyn-to-Queens Streetcar Proposal Emerge
One interesting detail to note: the BQX streetcar proposal, as its currently known, originated not from the de Blasio Administration but from a Brooklyn-based real estate company.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority