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More Swedish Christmas!.... page 12
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JANUARY 2025
The never ending Columbia Street traffic jam has an affect on business by Brian Abate
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esidents and businesses in the Columbia Street Waterfront District have been dealing with extreme traffic along Columbia St. and throughout the neighborhood. ever since the BQE bottleneck under the Brooklyn Heights Promenade was introduced in 2022.
GIL GONZALEZ RETIRES
Driving just a few blocks can take 30 minutes or more as cars look to avoid the heavy traffic above.
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Mazzat, a Mediterranean restaurant at 208 Columbia St. and Mex Carroll’s Diner at 192 Columbia St. have both been affected by the traffic. “I drive to work and the traffic is very bad every day since what happened with the BQE,” said Jimmy Bakhoum, the owner of Mazzat, a long-time fixture on Columbia Street. “It used to be much easier. Now I come in from the BQE and get off at Hamilton Ave. and it takes at least 20 minutes just making the left from Hamilton to Columbia. I’ve had to adjust and leave earlier but some days the traffic is even worse than usual.”
MEDEA HOAR PAGE 13
The extreme traffic from the BQE has been going on for over a year but nothing has been done to significantly reduce it.
GOWANUS SMELL AGREEMENT PAGE 7
WALKING WITH COFFEE by R.J. Cirillo LIFE IN THE REEL WORLD I held onto my Nokia cell phone until it basically dissolved in my hand. Having observed people staring into their smartphones in a sort of hypnotic state I didn’t want to join the club. But it’s a
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“The traffic is certainly a concern and we’re waiting on DOT to improve signage in areas right off the BQE like Hicks St. and Columbia St.,” said Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon in February 2023. “That wouldn’t solve the problem but it should help make a difference. I understand the frustration with the traffic because I live with big club and you must join.
I wound up getting an iPhone 13, and Jane added Facebook and assorted apps and I became a full-fledged member, checking my phone every spare minute for the email that would change my life. Right. Then I started watching reels, 60 second bits of visual info. You click on one and could doom scroll forever! You can start on something like a bunch of Mountain Goats,
it myself, but right now the priority is protecting the triple cantilever. If the triple cantilever falls off a cliff, we will be in for a world of hurt which is much worse than the increased traffic.” Interestingly, New Yorkers are also still waiting for something to be done about the cantilever, a 0.4-mile-long section of the (BQE) that carries both eastbound and westbound traffic on separate levels under the Brooklyn Promenade. Construction to re-design the cantilever isn’t expected to start until 2029 according to a proposal that the City announced earlier in 2024. The road goes from three lanes down to two lanes in that section of the BQE. “The traffic also has a negative effect because the restaurant has some regular customers who usually come from Manhattan once a month,” said Bakhoum. “Now with the noise and pollution, not everyone wants to make the trip. Also, in the summer when the weather was warm, we would usually keep the doors open. Now we have to keep them shut most of the time.” Miguel Ramirez of Mex Carroll’s Diner at 192 Columbia St. thinks traffic has negatively affected his business. He has been a manager there since the diner opened in 2014. “I usually drive here early so I arrive before the traffic but I see it later in the day,” Ramirez said. “There’s always a lot of congestion. For other people, it can take an extra 30 minutes or more to get here. It’s tough to be completely sure but I think for some people, they just don’t want to deal with waiting in
scaling a sheer vertical rock wall (one my favorites) followed by, a heart surgeon with advice on surviving cardiac arrest followed by a voluptuous woman waking by in a bikini, followed by an expert saying should eat 12 eggs every day, followed by an expose of the Aliens who built the pyramids and are still living in hidden chambers beneath, followed by a bikini clad woman on a trampoline , followed by an expert saying not to eat vegetables
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Jimmy Bakhoum in front of his restaurant, Mazzat. (photo by Abate)
traffic to get here. “It feels like they’re always talking about different plans and ideas but now we need whoever is in charge to make a plan and follow through. This has been going on for a long time and a lot of people are frustrated.” For now, the frustration continues for residents and those who work in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. The traffic has made it very difficult to travel by car during rush hour, in addition to the pollution and safety concerns. “Whether you listen to Waze or check the Maps app on your phone, there is no way to avoid the traffic,” Bakhoum said. “We want to see the City get this done and deal with it but everything takes such a long time.”
because they will kill you, then a mongoose fighting a cobra, another expert advising to eat ONLY ribeye steaks, and then if you’re lucky some more mountain goats, this time being chased by a snow leopard. Taking a breath here. Now my boomer brain is pretty much calcified, so this stuff has little effect on me, but imagine the effect it will have on the current generation of teenagers who have total access to it.
How do they figure out what is REAL…. and what is just a REEL! It’s a sticky wicket! All very understandable sentiment but we can’t stay here (continued on page 12)
January 2025, Page 1