Architect Viren Brahmbhatt Urges a Radical Rethink of the BQE, Not Just a Rebuild
New York City is looking into building a temporary elevated bypass to keep traffic flowing while repairs are made to the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. Architect Viren Brahmbhatt, who founded de.Sign Studio and teaches at CCNY, has voiced his concerns in an op-ed. He believes the BQE is outdated and prioritizes cars over the community's needs. Instead of just fixing the BQE, Brahmbhatt suggests we should consider moving freight transport to water and rail, like the Blue Highways initiative, and he promotes monitored lane reductions to avoid extending outdated infrastructure.
Key facts
- A temporary elevated highway above the Brooklyn Bridge approach has been proposed to keep traffic moving during BQE repairs beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, as reported by Gothamist
- Viren Brahmbhatt is founder of de.Sign Studio and an adjunct professor at CCNY's Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
- Brahmbhatt has also taught at Columbia GSAPP, Washington University's Sam Fox School and Pratt Institute, and previously worked in NYCHA's Design Department
- The city's own studies have explored concepts named the Terraces, the Lookout and the Stoop
- New York City's Blue Highways initiative aims to expand waterway freight movement linked to land-based distribution, including electric cargo bikes for last-mile delivery
- AIA New York has convened city agencies, researchers, freight operators and community advocates on expanding freight networks
- Proposals for the Brooklyn Marine Terminal envision restoring its role as a functioning maritime hub
- In 2021 the city reconfigured lane markings along part of the BQE to reduce structural stress and extend its service life
Entities
Artists
- Viren Brahmbhatt
- Robert Moses
Institutions
- Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
- Gothamist
- The Architect's Newspaper
- de.Sign Studio
- City College of New York
- Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
- Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
- Pratt Institute
- New York City Housing Authority
- AIA New York
- Brooklyn Marine Terminal
- Brooklyn Bridge Park
Locations
- New York City
- United States
- Brooklyn
- Brooklyn Heights
- Brooklyn Heights Promenade
- Brooklyn Bridge
- East River
- Columbia Street Waterfront District
- Carroll Gardens
- Cobble Hill
- DUMBO
- St. Louis