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Queens CD05 Projects
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Queens Community District 05
61-23 Myrtle Avenue
Glendale, NY 11385
Phone: 718.366.1834
Fax: 718.417.5799
Email: qnscb5@nyc.rr.com
Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel
In 1893, a vision for a cross harbor freight tunnel began. By the 1920s it became an early goal of the Port Authority but was abandoned in 1941. Under Mayor Giuliani, the tunnel plan gained new momentum in 1998, when he asked the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to study the project.
Proponents of the plan say that a growth in goods movement over the past 50 years and the continued growth of demand for goods in the region require greater capacity for freight transportation across the harbor between New York City and New Jersey. According to the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project, an organization formed in 2001 to plan and promote the tunnel project, the demand for goods in the New York metropolitan area is projected to grow about 70% by 2025. They argue that while New York has invested heavily in transportation infrastructure for moving people from region to region, the development of freight connections from the City to the concentration of air, rail and port freight facilities in the “West-of-Hudson region” have been ignored. The result is that the freight transport system in New York City relies predominantly on truck transport over a limited number of river crossings, causing congestion, delays and disruptions in shipping services, and additional costs for shippers and buyers.
The EDC completed and released their study of the project in 2000, generally concluding that the tunnel would be financially feasible and would result in a reduction of air pollution, traffic congestion, accidents, and costs to shippers.
The preferred alignment of the tunnel, according to the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project, would be from Greenville Yards in Jersey City, NJ to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
The cross harbor freight tunnel has received mixed support since Mayor Giuliani left office in 2001. Critics continue to question whether this dated plan will appropriately serve the modern needs of the region. Residents in Brooklyn and Queens have opposed the idea of designating land in their boroughs for rail terminals due to the noise and vibrations caused by rail traffic. In 2005, Mayor Michael Bloomberg voiced his opposition to the project, citing negative neighborhood impacts. During his gubernatorial campaign in 2006, former Governor Elliot Spitzer released a transportation agenda that omitted the tunnel project as a priority, but urged further study of its costs and benefits. In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg reconsidered his opposition to the project and agreed to meet with Representative Jerrold Nadler, one of the project’s biggest supporters.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey revived the project in October 2007 by agreeing to conduct a feasibility study funded by $100 million in federal dollars allocated in the federal Transportation Equity Act of 2005.
Recent headlines
Freight Tunnel Study Initiated
October 18, 2007
New York Sun
Port Authority Studies Freight Movement Improvement
October 18, 2007
Brooklyn Eagle
Bloomberg Reconsiders Stance on Cross Harbor Tunnel
July 10, 2007
New York Daily News
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Middle Village-Glendale Rezoning
This rezoning project in Queens addresses community concerns that recent residential development allowed under the current zoning is inconsistent with the established scale and character of the neighborhoods. The proposed zoning will permit lower density development and less commercial intrusion in order to protect each neighborhood’s residential context. On September 26, 2005, the Department of City Planning certified the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure application for the Middle Village - Glendale Rezoning to begin the formal public review process.
Recent headlines
EDC To Build Near Queens Borough Hall
October 10, 2006
New York Daily News
Queens: A Rezoning Machine
December 1, 2005
Other
Community Trying to Save Neighborhoods Through Rezoning
October 27, 2005
Queens Chronicle