Gov. Hochul: Feasibility Study Completed For Proposed Interboro Expressway, Which Would Connect Queens And Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Interboro Expressway is one step closer to becoming a reality.
It's not a road, but a new mass transit, CBS2's Kevin Rincon reported Thursday.
Connecting Queens and Brooklyn through a new commuter rail line is a decades-old idea that's finally gaining traction.
"If you can shave 30 or 40 minutes off someone's commute every single day, that is a gift," Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Hochul was in Brooklyn to announce the completion of a feasibility study, setting the stage for community involvement in the project. She also presented renderings of what the 14-mile converted freight line would look like. It's all in an effort to cut down on those long bus rides.
"Seventy minutes. Who wants to have a 70-minute bus ride. I have been on every pothole between these two boroughs. It is not a fun experience when you're on a bus ride," Hochul said.
In Middle Village, Queens, that new line would give people more options to get into parts of Brooklyn without having to cut through Manhattan.
"Not all of our travel is Manhattan-centric anymore," Metropolitan Transportation Authority Acting Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said.
Lieber said the goal is to connect 17 subway lines in all.
"We're talking about some of the driest transit deserts, as we say, in the city," Lieber said.
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And for commuters, more options are always welcomed.
"It's easier for Brooklynites, like myself, to be able to just get on one or maybe two trains and don't have to do so much up and down, escalators, transfers to a whole bunch of trains. It's easier. It'll be a lot easier," said Shakia Livingston of Bedford Stuyvesant.
"I think that's a great idea, especially for the people who have to depend on mass transportation and don't have to come all the way into the city to then go back into another borough. That makes no sense for me," said Jeannie Carrasquillo of the Lower East Side.
The Riders Alliance calls the proposed line critical to the city's economy.
"And would prove New York's ability to think big and build big and also to deliver equity to people," said Danny Pearlstein, the Riders Alliance's policy and communications director. "This would connect dozens of communities of color, giving people better access to opportunity then there has been in decades."
One aspect that's also being examined is extending the existing freight line through a new tunnel into New Jersey, an effort that could dramatically decrease the number of trucks we see out on the roads.
CBS2's Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.