The brooklyn queens connector:
A streetcar named Development
The Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront is home to some of the last working industrial waterfronts in New York City. The histories of the different neighborhoods that line the waterfront are rich and varied, all involving the hard work of immigrants and communities of color. One development that is quickly gaining steam and taking shape is the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX), a privately funded and publicized development to take place from Sunset Park to Astoria. This kind of development will be detrimental to the working and middle class living in close proximity to the proposed line. Take a look inside to see exactly why the BQX is a bad idea for the development of NYC.
the BQX 101 Quick facts and background
LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS
The Friends of the BQX have been promoting the project through conducting sessions with different neighborhoods. February 2016 The promotional videos highlights the benefits of this project MAYOR DE BLASIO including reducing work commutes and connecting peopleANNOUNCED BQX with greater economic oppurtunity. The Friends of the BQX have also circulated these fantasized images of the high tech steet car on the streets of the various neighborhoods along its route. The branding and promotion places an emphasis on the creation of beneficial economic oppurutnities for the residents of these neighborhoods - a topic discussed later in this handout. This project is currently being promoted by a coalition called the Friends of the BQX. The board of directors and executive committee is made up of people from companies and developers such as Two Trees Management, Transportation Alternatives, Regional Plan Association, Durst Organization, Tishman Speyer, Steiner Studios, Jamestown Properties (owner of Industry City) and many others. Many of these funders also have active investment in NYC, especially along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront, making this project a potentially high-paying investment for them. The community visioning sessions put on by NYC Economic Development Corporation have been in progress since Feburary 2016. The Mayor announced his support for this project in his State of the City speech in 2016 as well. Since then the project has gained momentum and has received alot of public attention due to its ambitious claims and proposed financing model. If the project moves forward as planned, the street car will be operating by 2024 for the public and will be serving an estimated 50,000 riders on weekdays. The seemingly small ridership and the tax increment based financing have placed big questions marks on the feasibility of the project.
NYC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
RESIDENTS
NYC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
COMMUNITY BOARDS
PROJECT TIMELINE Fall 2016
Spring 2016 HELD COMMUNITY VISIONING SESSIONS FIRST ROUND
HELD COMMUNITY VISIONING SESSIONS SECOND ROUND
INITIATE PUBLIC APPROVALS PROCESS & BEGIN ENVI’L
REPORT
REVIEW
BEGIN DESIGN OF INITIAL SEGMENT
NS BROOKLYN QUEE FRIENDS OF THE GISTERED RE A IS . INC R, CONNECTO ORTS OFIT THAT SUPP 501(C)3 NON-PR CREATE TO E TIV TIA INI THE MAYOR’S D GENERATE ECOCONNECTIVITY AN ENT ALONG THE PM NOMIC DEVELO RONT RF EAST RIVER WATE
BREAK GROUND
STARTS OPERATION
GREEN POINT
QUEENS WILLIAMSBUR
G
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS
LIC PARTNERSHIP COALITION FOR QUEENS NEW YORK BUILDING CONGRESS
RED HOOK
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BQX
REPRESNTATIVES FROM
DUMBO BID
Agger Fish Corporation Red Hook East Resident Association Astoria Resident Association Red Hook East Resident Association Atlas Capital Group NYU Langone Medical Center LaGuardia Community College Urban Upbond
$2.5 BILLION
(CONSTRUCTION COST)
FRIENDS OF THE
INDUSTRY CITY
STREETCAR
LONG ISLAND
TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES
TISHMAN SPEYER
SELECT CONTRACTOR/ OPERATOR &
RIA
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
BROOKLYN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
2024
ASTO
REPRESNTATIVES FROM
REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION
RELEASE PRELIMINARY
5TH AVENUE COMMITTEE
TWO TREES MANAGEMENT CO. LLC
2019
2018
2017
Early 2017
SUNSET PARK
BROOKLYN
$30 MILLION
(MAINTENANCE COST /YEAR)
24 HOURS 5 MIN INTERVAL (PEAK HOURS)
bqx | the $2.5 billion business genius FINANCING STRUCTURES through development THE BURDEN OF DEVELOPMENT ON waterfront NEIGHBORHOODS The BQX financing model is based on the premise of growth and development around the project. This development oriented scheme seeks to create an influx of infrastructure which can then raise the property values of residential and commercials spaces along the waterfront. This model of value capture is at the heart of the BQX and its ability to succeed. This means that the BQX can only sustain itself financially if the property values rise significantly and cover the costs put up by the Friends of the BQX. The speculation and assumption of property value rise exposes a large conflict in this scheme. The richer areas will not have as much potential for real estate development to be exploited as the lower density, lower income areas will. This shows that the burden of the BQX construction and maintenance will be mostly put on the areas in most need of resources and will result in further repercussions such as displacement, rent increase and gentrification. The graphic on the left and the one below aim to represent this idea that the development bridge burdens the foundations of Sunset Park and Astoria far more than in Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg and thus will face more breaks in the community cultures. The data used to create these graphics and represent the neighborhoods is average median rents from 2016. However it is important to understand that no one piece of data can be precise enough to represent the current development index. Median rents can only be used as a rough measuring tool that represents the development or gentrification of the neighborhood. A rise in rents will be the most immediate effect of the the BQX development if it were to be passed by City Council.
the development route The diagram to the right shows the uneven development that would happen along the waterfront as a result of the BQX project. This map spatializes the burden each neighborhood would bare. As an example, Sunset Park will support the cost of the BQX much more than Brooklyn Heights because the property values and rents are not as saturated in Sunset Park. This means that more displacement, gentrification and general change in character will occur in this neighborhood. This diagram could be used as a road map for developers because the financiang structure of this project becomes sustainable only when lower income neighborhoods are included on the route. The reason for this is in order to fully exploit the highly commodified land to pay for the project, they need land that has not been tapped of all its resources to make as high cost residential, commercial and insdutrial area as possible. Not only is this necessary for the survival of the project, but it also means that the project is less risky as a development becausein our capitalist system, it is much easier for them to exploit properties and businesses that are lower income than those that are higher. To flip this information around, the index to the right is also a means for communites to gather around certain areas to fight against gentrification and further land commodification that the BQX encourages. The graphic to the right has two pieces of information to compare. The blue circles show the current median rents in the neighborhood. The yellow rings show what can be extracted out of the neighborhoods. The larger the gap is between the blue and yellow circles, the more room for exploitation, gentrification and displacement that can occur to fund the development of the BQX.
tax increment financing model: A Value Capture System A Tax Increment Financing district is created by using the proposed project’s potential growth in multiplication with the sites that will benefit from that development. The city creates a TIF council that includes experts and officials to run the TIF structures. Firstly, the total value of tax property of the demarcated district is calculated .Then the projections are estimated keeping in mind the market trends and the potential growth of the proposed TIF project. This line determines all the taxation that can be collected above the base line. After the development is done the property values of the area rises. The property taxes also increase which go back to pay the investors till the debt is paid back after which the whole tax starts going to the city. The BQX
is expected to follow a similar financing model, more specifically the revenue bond system. The city is not directly liable to pay back the investors if the project fails to pay back the debt at any point in the time frame of the project. However because of political influences and also because of city’s credibility for the future projects the city sometime holds a few back up budget cuts to allow for the investors to be paid back. The finance model of TIF therefore heavily relies on its growth potentials and also on its development jumps. The whole system gets very complicated as shown below when the rating companies, bond insurances, property holders, incentives, bond default shares all tie into one huge real estate monopoly.
An analysis of the bqx falling short of the needs The BQX has large amounts of money pouring into its advertising and marketing, giving a false narrative about how it will help the residents who live along this line connect better to the MTA subway system. But who is this BQX really for? With some brief analysis of Census data and other openly available information on the NYC Open Data website, it became clear that this line would not help those who need it most. The BQX exists directly within the boundaries of the 100 year hurricane flood zones, as identified by FEMA. How can this new piece of infrastructure be plausible and feasible if it is not going to be at-grade, but instead potentially underwater, in the coming years? With these FEMA drawn lines, it is saying that there is a 1% chance every year to be flooded over, increasing 1% every year. These lines do not indicate the imminent threat the waterfront is under of being the first casualty of climate change. Considering that the areas in the darkest blue are the ones that are most likely to flood, it is clear that the BQX is right in line to be under water with the way that climate change is taking hold of our planet. This is not the only issue with the BQX. As some analysis of avalaible Census and American Community Survey Data from 2010 through 2015 shows in the graphics, the BQX does not serve the needs of the people and will ultimately displace those who are living around it. As shown on the information of the Financing Section on the back side of this page, this project depends on the rise of property values. This value capture style of finance is known to displace the people who are living around the project. As seen in the finance pamphlet f this set, who really pays for these projects if it is not the developers who own land along these lines who are also receiving tax breaks? The burden lies on those who live in single properties, or those who are tenants in larger housing units.
Alternative routes proposed by other agencies
these resources considering all of our taxes are going to go into paying these projects.
There are many different alternatives that have been proposed by agencies across NYC, as well as non-profit research centers. Most of them help meet the needs of the people and utilize less permanent or already existing infrastructure - meaning less money for build out and less time until completion. Here are a few that have been developed by different groups and were proposed to servethe needs of the constituents and bring transit to the people and places that need it most.
Most Driver Commuters and Lowest Income
Another way to identify the transit deserts is by looking at those areas with the highest percentage of commuter drivers and the lowest median incomes. The people who have to carry the monetary burden of owning a car while living in some of the lowest income brackets as opposed to using public transit can be considered another area in which transit is desperately needed. In the yellow areas on the map to the right, you will find exactly this - the people who have to spend a far higher percentage of their income on their transportation needs. Again, this area is much further to the east than the BrooklynQueens waterfront. These areas are transit deprived, just as those in the light blue areas are.
Longest Commute Time and LON Lowest IncomeG ISLAND
ASTO
RIA
Hurricane Zones Ranked 1-6
Mobility and Equity for New York’s Transit-Starved Neighborhoods
BAYSIDE
Pratt Center and Rockefeller Foundation - 2013
GREENPOINT
WILLIAMS
BURG
All of these analyses show that the BQX does not belong on the Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront. There are areas that need it much more than the waterfront does, and it also is permanent infrastructure that is in immediate risk of being a victim to the rising sea levels and progressivley tumultuous weather patterns hitting NYC. These are just three major ways of showing that the BQX is an unnecessary development that will only feed into the money of those backing the venture. Further analysis shows that the densest portions of Brooklyn and Queens are not along the waterfront and instead are further east, following the paths of the existing subway lines. Lastly, the job centers in Brooklyn and Queens that exist do lie immediately on the waterfront and in a few other areas according to a study by the Pratt Center. As shown below, the commute patterns of New Yorkers - data from the 2010 Census - is not from North to South or vice versa. Instead it is from East to West and West to East. See below for a deeper analysis of the commutes that New Yorkers take to the Waterfront.
7
2 HUNTS POINT / FLUSHING / JAMAICA 3 STATEN ISLAND NORTH SHORE 4 SUNSET PARK / JFK VIA HOSPITAL CLUSTER
BELLAIRE
5 FAR ROCKAWAY / JAMAICA
2
6 SUNSET PARK / JFK VIA SOUTH EAST BROOKLYN 7 EAST BRONX HOSPITAL CLUSTER / EAST HARLEM 8 MID-STATEN ISLAND / JERSEY CITY / HOLLAND TUNNEL
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS
1
HOLLIS
8
JAMAICA CENTER
SUNSET PARK
5
4
3
RED HOOK
6
LAURELTON
BROWNSVIL
LE
BUS SERVICE
BROOKVILLE
Overlooked boroughs Technical Report
regional plan association - 2015
CANARSIE
Going further in the data analysis, on the right the light blue areas are the ones with the longest commute times and the lowest incomes: arguably, these are the people who need transit the most. They are much farther east than the Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront. These transit deserts are in desperate need of more transit options, and considering the hefty cost of the BQX ($2.5 Billion), it is curious that this kind of money is not being administered more to those who need
RPA RECOMMENDATIONS
TRAIN SERVICE
MARINE PARK
This report addresses and translates a set of other agencies’ recommendation, and further proposes their own recommendations to improve the transit systems for borough residents. It provides analysis of nine factors that influence transit use.
PRATT RECOMMENDATIONS SBS EXISTING ROUTES
2
5
4
3
6
The false narrative being given about the BQX being the needed transportation of the waterfront is wrong because most people are not travelling north and south along the waterfront, and instead are doing east and west travel. Using Census data from 2010, the analysis below shows which boroughs the workers come from in order to reach the waterfront. It is shown that the vast majority of people on the Brooklyn waterfront come from elsewhere in Brooklyn, while the same is true for the Queens waterfront. The two graphics show the different amounts of people by percentage that are going to each of the two boroughs’ waterfronts. See below for further details.
The Triboro
regional plan association
BRONX 3.7%
Red Hook
BRONX 5.5%
Astoria
TRIBORO ROUTES
BRONX
The Triboro proposes to be an above-ground rail line linking three boroughs along the 24-mile route from Co-Op City in the Bronx to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. The north-south transit corridor allows people to transfer to 17 subway lines and 4 commuter rail lines. In terms of construction, it uses existing rail right-of-way, which means it could be built faster and more cheaply than other recent, large-scale transit projects in the New York Region.
ASTORIA JACKSON HEIGHT
MANHATTAN 5.0%
Manhattan
Manhattan
Bronx
Bronx
Brooklyn
ASTORIA
Brooklyn
Sunset Park
Queens
Long Island City
GREEN POINT
MANHATTAN 5.5% BAY RIDGE
ASTORIA
Queens Staten island
LONG ISLAND CITY
Staten island
1
8
Commute patterns around the waterfront
DUMBO
7
SBS PHASE 2 CORRIDORS
FERRY SERVICE
Greenpoint
This report makes a recommendation for eight, full-featured BRT corridors. These corridors were selected based on potential benefits and physical feasibilityfor BRT. They focus on the areas where people live more than a half mile from any subway station. The routes also connect major job center, especially for those lacking good subway access. In addition, the corridors take non-working people into consideration. They link major education hubs and healthcare, aiming to help students, seniors and people with disabilities.
PRATT ROUTES 1 LA GUADIA / WOODHAVEN / ROCKAWAY
LONG ISLAND CITY
QUEENS 12.9%
GREEN POINT
DUMBO
QUEENS 72.7%
economic development corporation
DUMBO
RED HOOK
NYC FERRY ROUTES
RED HOOK
SUNSET PARK
The NYC Ferry launched new routes to South Brooklyn and Astoria and will provide service to Soundview and the Lower East Side in 2018. Incorporating with the existing East River route and a new Rockaway route, the ferry system provides a new way to travel bewteen waterfront communities.
SUNSET PARK
STATEN ISLAND 1.5%
STATEN ISLAND 4.5% BROOKLYN 73.9%
NYC Ferry
BROOKLYN 14.8%
BRONX
ASTORIA LOWER EAST SIDE
STATEN ISLAND
GREENPOINT
SOUTH BROOKLYN
ROCKAWAY
Brooklyn waterfront
Queens waterfront
RESOUrCES WHAt you can do to get involved In this era of market driven development, interest in the welfare of communites is being ignored over capital gains in developmental proects. It has become necessary for the people to unite with others around them facing similar adversaries. The BQX will have devastating consequences for the working class neighborhoods along its route and will also burden the majority of its debt on to the local taxpayers. Now is the time to voice our opinions and to organzie ourselves to fight against gentrification.
queensantigentrification@gmail.com http://queensantigentrification.org (917) 745-3479
www.facebook.com/ QueensIsNotForSale/
Forutnately for the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront, many organizations have been working hard to challenge the city and its claims of increasing economic opporutnites for the neighborhoods in question. The momentum of the this resistance will be fueled by participation from not only residents of these neighborhoods but also people from all over the city. Below are some of the forces you can align with to help further this anti-gentrification fight!
166A 22nd St. Brooklyn, NY 11232 www.uprose.org (718) 492-9307
info@j4ac.us www.j4ac.us (718) 744-5799
CREDITS + Thank Yous Special Thanks to: Tom Angotti Samuel Stein Lize Mogel Queens is Not For Sale UPROSE Queens Anti-Gentrification Project CAAAV Justice for All Coalition
Other Works
M.S. Design and Urban Ecologies Class of 2018 Jason Azar Andrew Strong Maha Aslam Angelica Jackson Lyric Kelkar Burak Sancakdar Caroline Macfarlane Nina Van Wijk Sarath Ramanan Dongyao Li Selamawit Yemeru Eduarda Aun Zara Farooq Emily Sloss Gabriela Lopez