Advocacy Group Proposes Plan To Connect Brooklyn & Queens By Light Rail
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A plan to make commuting easier between Brooklyn and Queens involves connecting the two boroughs by light rail.
If you're trying to get from one to the other, you know how difficult it can be. On Monday, advocacy group BQX unveiled part of a plan to change that.
They gave members of the media a close look at the prototype at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's 46 feet long, made up of two cars, and it's got street level boarding for those with mobility challenges.
It's part of a 16-mile system that would run between Astoria, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn and would make life easier, especially for seniors.
"They can get around without having to navigate through trains and tunnels and up and down steps and escalators and the crowds of people," Astoria resident Carol Wilkins said.
Astoria resident Eric Duncan says it would cut his commute time down by more than an hour.
Still, others worry it would do more harm than good.
"Traffic is already a nightmare, why would they just want to make that situation that much worse for everybody," Sunset Park business owner Liza Ledain said.
"Parking in this neighborhood is really tough, so I don't know if it's going to make parking worse," one Sunset Park resident told CBS2's Marc Liverman.
CBS2 reached out to the city to find out how much the project would cost, how it would be paid for, and how it would run. They responded in an e-mail, saying: "We are in the midst of brass tacks, block-by-block assessment of engineering costs and revenue projections for the innovative new street car."
Additionally, they said they're also going to get input from New Yorkers. If approved, the city says service would begin in 2024.
CBS2 also reached out to Governor Cuomo's office, which said since it's a city project, they won't comment on it because they haven't been given details by the city.
