Mayor Bill de Blasio touted future economic benefits to the city including “$25 billion of economic impact” from the proposed Brooklyn-Queens streetcar during hisState of the City speech Thursday night. “Tonight I am announcing the Brooklyn-Queens Connector, or BQX, a state-of-the-art streetcar that will run from Astoria to Sunset Park, and has the potential to generate over $25 billion of economic impact for our city,” de Blasio said, according to a prepared copy of his remarks. “New Yorkers will be able to travel up and down a 16-mile route that links a dozen waterfront neighborhoods.The BQX has the potential to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers.” The streetcar is needed due to “explosive housing and job growth occurring along the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
The proposed streetcar’s fare would be the same as a single-ride MetroCard. It would also link more than 40,000 tenants from 13 public housing developments, representing 10 percent of the city’s residents in public housing, according to the mayor’s office. Another new plan in the works is de Blasio’sidea to seek a developer for Governors Island.
The city will issue a request for proposals seeking a plan to develop 33 acres on the island and find a new use for 900,000 square feet in the historic district on the island’s northern end.
De Blasio delivers State of City speech, promises Brooklyn-Queens streetcar
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