| Issue 53 | September 29, 1995 |
Gowanus Goes to Washington
Lack of response by the NY State Dept. of Transportation to community concerns about the planned 10-year reconstruction of Brooklyn's Gowanus Expressway has led federal officials to take the matter in hand. Representative Nydia Velazquez, in whose district most of the Gowanus lies, has asked House Transportation Committee Chair Bud Shuster to add language to the final National Highway System bill (about to enter House-Senate conference) requiring the Gowanus project to undergo a major investment study that will evaluate a range of project alternatives. The NYS DOT project will spend about $1 billion but offers Brooklyn residents and I-278 travelers nothing better than they have now, and will spill thousands of extra vehicles onto Brooklyn streets each day during the decade of reconstruction. Brooklyn elected officials and community leaders met with Federal Highway Administrator Rodney Slater on the issue over a year ago, but received no help. In the House, Velazquez said "other area highway projects, which affect far fewer New Yorkers, and cost less, have been subject to greater study. In this case, however, the State has done little in the way of examining measures that can reduce the harmful effects on the community or the options available to better address transportation woes." Representative Susan Molinari, who could play an important role in including a Gowanus provision in the final bill, also remarked on her constituents' concerns about the project. Shuster briefly said he would work with NY representatives on a solution to the problem as the NHS bill moves forward. Congressional Record
