As reported at our fall general meeting by Dan Wiley, on behalf of Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, there is progress on the BQE front. In 2006, Rep. Velazquez got federal money approved for a study on what to do about the trench section of the BQE: from Atlantic Avenue to Hamilton Avenue. The City’s Economic Development Corporation agreed to be the local sponsor for the study, but they were required to have a local government match to put up additional funds. Dan reported to our members that the City’s Department of Transporation has agreed to be the local match.

What does all this mean on the ground? It means that the study on the future of the trench can begin in 2009. The CHA’s position has been clear all along and we will continue to fight for it: the one outcome that we will not accept is a deck on which new apartments can be built. Aside from that, we look forward to the creative possibilities. One plan that has already won awards is Susannah Drake’s ‘Reconnection Strategies’. (Go to dlandstudio.com, click ‘Work’, then click ‘Public’, then click ‘BQE Trench Study’.)