Voice Your Opinion On The Cross Harbor Freight Program Tomorrow, February 3 1

Voice Your Opinion On The Cross Harbor Freight Program Tomorrow, February 3  1
Image via the Port Authority
Image via the Port Authority

Tomorrow, February 3, from 4-8pm at Brooklyn Borough Hall (209 Joralemon Street), you’ll be able to tell the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey what you think of their 10 proposals for transporting freight throughout the New York-New Jersey region, including options that would utilize the Long Island Rail Road’s Bay Ridge branch, which runs through our area.

A decades-old initiative that is being revived, the Cross Harbor Freight Program aims to take trucks off the roads by building a $7 billion to $11 billion tunnel beneath the New York Harbor, or expanding the current barge crossings, to move freight from New Jersey to Brooklyn.

The Port Authority just released its Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposal, and it’s now gathering public opinion on the DEIS at hearings throughout the area. (To see the list of scheduled hearings, go here.)

The DEIS outlines 10 possible projects to deliver the freight, including by using a tunnel that would run beneath the New York Harbor into Bay Ridge’s 65th Street rail yard, or by expanding the current barge crossing that takes rail cars to Sunset Park’s Bush Terminal train yard. As part of these options, freight headed for Queens or Long Island would be transported via the LIRR’s Bay Ridge line, which, once upon a time, carried passengers from Queens to Bay Ridge, passing through such neighborhoods as East Flatbush, Midwood, and Bensonhurst on the way.

Some area leaders have expressed concerns about the use of freight cars on rail tracks in our area, with Councilman Jumaane Williams noting that there is a probability of “severe” increases in noise levels in the community.

To download the DEIS, you can go here. If you can’t make it to tomorrow’s hearing, there are other public hearings happening, which you can see here, and you may also provide comments to the Port Authority by emailing feedback@crossharborstudy.com. The public comment period will remain open until 5pm on February 27.

We double-checked with the Port Authority today to make sure that tomorrow’s hearing is still on, despite the weather, and they said it is. If there are any changes, an informational recording regarding the hearing will be available at (201) 820-2170 at least two hours before the scheduled start time of the hearing.