Race for gov
heating up THE BQE!’
reconstruction with fed dollars
Gov. Kathy Hocul will see multiple
primary opnents in next
year’s Democratic primary.
File photo
COURIER LIFE, NOVEMBER 19-25, 2021 3
ing renovations.
“We had no money three
years ago, now we’ve got
money and we’ve got a city
and a state that are working
together, we can actually get
some incredible things done,”
Scissura told Brooklyn Paper’s
sister publication am-
NewYork Metro.
Congress passed Biden’s
infrastructure package on
Friday and the spending plan
includes $1 billion for a fi rstever
program to “reconnect
communities divided by transportation
infrastructure.”
A White House fact sheet
cites the I-81 in Syracuse or
the Clairborne Expressway
in New Orleans as cases of
highways that cut through
poor communities of color, but
there are several prime examples
in the Big Apple, such
as the BQE, which is part of
Interstate 278, and the Cross
Bronx Expressway.
The funding for the initiative
was whittled down from
an original $20 billion during
negotiations in the Senate, but
the US Department of Transportation
said it will still reconnect
as many as 20 communities
by removing parts
of interstates and repurposing
former rail lines.
“This is a moment to do
something right, it’s a moment
to say we’ve got an investment,
we’ve got a moment to really
rebuild our highway system,”
said Scissura.
The agency’s chief, Transportation
Secretary Pete Buttigieg,
cited examples in New
York documented by historian
Robert Caro in his famous
study of Moses “The Power
Broker.”
“If a highway was built
for the purpose of dividing a
white and a Black neighborhood
or if an underpass was
constructed such that a bus
carrying mostly Black and
Puerto Rican kids to the beach
… in New York was designed
too low for it to pass by, that
that obviously refl ects racism
that went into those design
choices,” Buttigieg said.
Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer, Bronx Congressmember
Ritchie Torres,
and city DOT Commissioner
Hank Gutman rallied in
Parkchester on Tuesday calling
for the funds to be used to
cap the trenched roadway that
cuts through the borough, and
on Wednesday Mayor-to-be
Eric Adams voiced support for
improving that thruway and
the BQE.
“We do need to really roll
back the Robert Moses division
of our city and reunite
neighborhoods and communities,”
Adams told Brian Lehrer
on WNYC. “One solution will
solve a multitude of problems,
you cap it, you bring communities
together, green space,
there’s some great things we
can do with that.”
The renewed attention for
the highways came as a blessing
to the head of the Brooklyn
Height Association, a storied
civic group that has been
battling the BQE since Robert
Moses fi rst proposed to build
it through the neighborhood
half a century ago.
“There fi nally seems to be
a moment where, hopefully,
the state and federal government
are working together for
the benefi t of the city,” said
BHA executive director Lara
Birnback.
“The relationship between
New York City and Albany is
in a better place than it’s been
for a long time to make progress
on this,” she added. “The
communities are ready, willing,
and able to be a partner
on this work with the city,
state, and federal offi cials.”
BY BROOKLYN PAPER
Two Brooklyn natives
— city Public Advocate Jumaane
Williams and state
Attorney General Letitia
James — both offi cially
announced their candidacies
for governor in recent
weeks, creating a crowded
fi eld in next year’s Democratic
Primary that will
feature incumbent Gov.
Kathy Hochul, and potentially
Mayor Bill de Blasio,
among others.
“In this moment, I believe
we need bold, principled
progressive leadership
in Albany to move our state
forward with justice and
equity, no matter the political
winds,” Williams said.
“I’m honored to announce
my candidacy to be the
next Governor of New York,
humbled by this opportunity
to empower the people
and renew New York, and
excited to share my vision
of structural change with
communities all across the
state I love.”
Meanwhile, James pitted
herself as the champion
of the voiceless in her announcement,
with a thinly
veiled reference to her dual
investigations into former
Gov. Andrew Cuomo — fi rst
into COVID-19 deaths in
nursing homes, and second
into alleged sexual misconduct
in the workplace.
“I’ve spent my career
guided by a simple principle,”
James says. “Stand up
to the powerful on behalf of
the vulnerable, to be a force
for change.”
Hochul, for her part,
has been clear about her
intentions to run for governor
next year, which
would be the former lieutenant
governor’s first
time elected to the post
that she’s held ever since
Cuomo’s resignation.
Other potential candidates
for the job include
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who
has reportedly been calling
the state’s power brokers
to gauge a potential
run, which would come
after he is term-limited
from his current office on
Jan. 1 of 2022.
Suffolk County Executive
Steve Bellone, Yonkers
Mayor Mike Spano,
and state Comptroller
Tom DiNapoli have all
also expressed interest in
the gig.
Williams’ entry into
the race, along with de
Blasio’s rumored interest,
complicate the path
for James, as all three
politicos call Brooklyn
their homes, and will be
potentially competing for
votes among a strong base
of Kings County Democratic
African Americans
thought to be up-for-grabs
in a potential race against
Hochul, who is a white upstater,
and relatively unknown
for an incumbent.
The chairperson of
the Brooklyn Democratic
Party, Rodneyse Bichotte
Hermelyn, had previously
expressed optimism in
a potential James candidacy,
saying she was naturally
“next in line for the
governorship.
“Anyone who’s interested
in potentially running
knows that Tish James is a
good candidate given that
she’s a statewide offi cial and
being a woman of color will
be kind of historic,” said
Bichotte. “So many different
people probably see her
as a progressive leader and
tough and she’s an attorney.
Normally the tradition has
been the attorney general
will be the next in line for
the governorship.”
Though, when asked
about potential challengers,
Hochul kept it brief at
a press conference earlier
this month.
“Bring it on,” she said.