At public "scoping" meetings for NY State DOT’s Bruckner-Sheridan interchange project last week, scores of civic leaders, residents and young people called for consideration of a project alternative that would remove the Sheridan Expressway. The plan would also establish a new truck access route from the highway network to the Hunts Point Market area and improve pedestrian access and safety at Hunts Point’s gateway where Hunts Point Avenue intersects with Bruckner Boulevard.

The community proposal has been developed by an alliance of Bronx and city-wide groups comprised of Sustainable South Bronx, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, Pratt Institute’s Center for Community and Environmental Development and the Tri-State Campaign. It proposes a new entrance/exit for the Bruckner Expressway at Leggett Avenue. That would create a convenient route between the Bronx highway network and the Hunts Point markets.

The new truck route would permit the demapping of the 1.25 mile Sheridan Expressway in favor of riverfront parkland or other uses. The Sheridan is essentially a minor connector road between the Cross-Bronx and Bruckner Expressways, which intersect at two other points, and are also linked by the Bronx River Parkway. The Sheridan — just a mile and a quarter long — sees very little overall traffic volume by NYC standards. Eliminating the Sheridan would also remove its interchanges with the Bruckner and Cross-Bronx, eliminating major causes of congestion along both highways. Removal of the Bruckner-Sheridan interchange would also permit the Bruckner to be elevated from Hunts Point Avenue to Colgate Avenue, which would open up additional access to the Bronx River waterfront and improve pedestrian access between Hunts Point and the rest of the South Bronx. The Bruckner presently descends to grade in the area.

Over one hundred people turned out for Tuesday’s hearing at the Hunts Point library. Testimony unanimously called for a strong look at the community alternative. Many speakers reiterated that South Bronx neighborhoods are surrounded by interstate highways, and that asthma rates in the area are extreme. Speakers also noted the absence of sufficient open space and greenery in the area, and the relatively light use of the Sheridan. The event was spirited, with frequent applause for neighborhood leaders and other supporters of the community plan, and signs with slogans like "Exit at Leggett."

Anthony Winn of Youth Ministries said agreement on a set of projects mutually acceptable to the DOT and community groups would hasten construction and improvement, whereas local opposition could result in years of delay and conflict.

Danielle Burger of the Tri-State Campaign said the community plan would fulfill the DOT’s project goals to improve safety, mobility and the environment better than the plans originally advanced by the DOT itself. She noted several initiatives by cities outside the metropolitan region to reclaim urban land by tearing down useful highways.

Vincent Pacifico, an employer at the Hunts Point meat market, said he supports improvements to the area like removing the Sheridan, and said an access plan like the Bruckner-Leggett ramps made sense.

Community testimony was backed at another hearing on Thursday, where State Assembly member Ruben Diaz Jr. said he wanted NY State DOT to take a robust look at the Sheridan demapping plan, and a representative of Borough President Adolfo Carrion urged the DOT to listen to the community.

The DOT’s concept for the Bruckner-Sheridan connection is to upgrade the interchange ramps to provide smoother and safer traffic flow, and to provide better access for trucks from the Sheridan into the Hunts Point district, which features New York City’s primary wholesale food market. However, the new complex of ramps the DOT envisions will further cut Hunts Point off from the rest of the Bronx. Moreover, the plan provides direct truck access from the interchange to the market, but not any new egress from the market area. 

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