Good morning. It’s Tuesday. We’ll take another look at why nothing has happened to replace the infamous triple cantilever on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. We’ll also get details on a casino panel’s recommendations, a crucial step toward licensing three casinos in New York City.
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway is notorious for its potholes and its endlessly snarled traffic. Worse, it’s decaying. The road surface has been worn down by more traffic than it was designed to handle, and road salt, snow and rain have eaten away at its concrete-and-steel underpinnings. City officials said in 2016 that the triple cantilever section of the B.Q.E. in Brooklyn Heights needed to be completely overhauled. That hasn’t happened. I asked Winnie Hu, who, with Helmuth Rosales and Marco Hernandez, spent months taking a detailed look at the B.Q.E., for an update. Zohran Mamdani, when he takes office next month, will be the third mayor to face the problem that is the B.Q.E. — Mayor Eric Adams and his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, both promised to fix it. The B.Q.E. is now older and arguably in worse shape than ever. What has Mamdani said about the B.Q.E.? His spokeswoman said that he considers “protecting the B.Q.E.’s safety and stability” to be “an urgent priority for the city.” She said that the Mamdani administration would work to deliver “a permanent solution for the city-owned sections of the B.Q.E. that both meets community needs and preserves this essential transportation corridor.” City transportation officials and Brooklyn leaders and residents alike will no doubt be glad to hear that. Many Brooklyn residents have grown frustrated with the way the city has slow-walked the process and would welcome a fresh start. But doesn’t the statement hint at one of the problems — that the city only controls about a mile and a half of the 16-mile-long roadway? Yes, the majority of the B.Q.E. is outside the city’s control. It was the state Transportation Department that initially started the long slog to rehabilitate the triple cantilever in 2006. Officials held community meetings and discussed potential design concepts, including building a tunnel, but ended up dropping the project in 2011 for what the department now says were “fiscal concerns and the need to focus on other pressing priorities.” That basically left the city Transportation Department to fix the triple cantilever. State transportation officials say they have continued to provide assistance to the city on the B.Q.E., though I think it’s a real question how involved the state is willing to get. Many Brooklyn residents and community groups have called for a broader plan that will address the effects of traffic and pollution on neighborhoods along the entire highway, not just in Brooklyn Heights. But that is only possible with the cooperation and support of the state, and it’s not clear that the B.Q.E. is a priority for Gov. Kathy Hochul and Albany leaders. The B.Q.E. opened in 1954 and was designed to have a life span of 50 years. We’re now 20 years past that. How long can the B.Q.E. really last? Is it dangerous? The city has extended the use of the triple cantilever with repairs and interim measures, including removing two traffic lanes to reduce vehicle weight on it. But it continues to deteriorate, and with each passing year, the risks only go up, not down. City officials and transportation engineers say it won’t collapse tomorrow, but something else could happen, like a chunk of concrete falling off and hitting a vehicle. For now, the city says the triple cantilever is safe until at least 2029. After that, the city may have to further restrict traffic to reduce weight on the cantilever — if nothing else is done. But a long-term solution is needed, and soon. Just look at the hundreds of steel mesh sheets that have been attached to the underside of the roadway to keep concrete in place. I would worry about driving on the B.Q.E. What happens now? In October, Adams wrote to the U.S. transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, urging him to start the environmental review process for the B.Q.E., which would consider a range of plans and allow the city to begin construction in 2029. “Any delay risks resetting the clock on years of progress and consigning this project to further uncertainty,” Adams said in his letter. City officials said they have not received a response from Duffy. Besides not having consensus on a plan, the city faces another big hurdle: how to pay for a project that could cost as much as $5 billion. The B.Q.E. was passed over for federal funding in 2024. WEATHER Rain and snow are expected this morning, with the precipitation shifting to all rain by late morning. A high near 43 is expected, with a low of 31 on an evening that will be blustery after the rain stops. ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING In effect until Monday (Immaculate Conception). The latest Metro news
We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. Gaming board recommends all 3 casino bids
On Monday, New York City moved closer to hearing casino dealers in Queens and the Bronx say, “Place your bets, please.” A state board recommended licenses for three casinos:
No casinos will be coming to Manhattan. Three proposed casinos there were rejected by local advisory committees in September. The panel that endorsed the licenses on Monday, the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, sent its recommendations to the state’s gaming commission for final approval. The commission is expected to follow the recommendations and issue licenses by the end of the year. But Monday’s decision was crucial: The facility location board could have said no to any, or all three, of the proposals. Collectively, the casino operators have claimed that they will generate hundreds of millions in additional state tax revenue every year. The license fees alone — one-time payments for each casino — are expected to bring in more than $1.5 billion. The Bally’s project could mean millions of dollars for President Trump. His company, the Trump Organization, used to operate a public golf course on city-owned land adjacent to where Bally’s wants to build a $4 billion complex with its casino and a hotel. When the Trump Organization sold its remaining interest in the site to Bally’s, the casino company promised to pay Trump’s firm an additional $115 million if it got a casino license. Bally’s said its casino could be ready to open in 2030. The Hard Rock casino is a venture with Steve Cohen, the hedge fund manager who owns the Mets. In reviewing the applications, the gaming commission can take into consideration qualities like integrity, financial stability and reputation. Cohen’s firm pleaded guilty to settle a federal insider-trading inquiry in 2013 and paid a $1.8 billion penalty, but Cohen himself was mostly unscathed. Vicki Been, the former deputy mayor who was the chairwoman of the licensing board, said the episode was “something that the gaming commission will take very seriously, I’m sure.” METROPOLITAN DIARY Lost and found
Dear Diary: I was jogging near my house when I saw a crumpled $50 bill on the ground. For a second, I was elated at my good luck. Then I noticed that the bill had fallen right next to a crumpled receipt from a nearby grocery store. The slip of paper had the time of the transaction, just 10 minutes earlier. I brought the cash and the receipt to the store and handed them to my favorite cashier. “Oh,” she said, scanning the items listed on the receipt: canned beans, cottage cheese and tomato juice. “I know this grandma.” Then she left the register and ran off toward the woman’s house. — Anya Kamenetz Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here. Glad we could get together here. See you tomorrow. — J.B. P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here. Lauren Hard and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at nytoday@nytimes.com. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
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