(The Bronx, NY) — On Monday morning, a broad coalition of grassroots groups, environmental justice leaders, and advocates for safe and healthy transportation, with elected official partners, convened by the Bronx River Alliance, formally launched the “No Cross Bronx Expansion” campaign to fight back against Governor Hochul’s plan to widen the Cross Bronx Expressway and construct nearly a mile of new elevated highway. Speakers included community organizations, elected officials, and Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School students sharing their experiences and a spoken word performance.
The “No Cross Bronx Expansion (No CBE) Coalition” is determined to reverse the harms done to the public health, environment, and social and economic life of the Bronx – beginning with stopping new highway expansions along the Cross Bronx.
The Cross Bronx has dumped unwelcome air, noise, and water pollution into the borough for decades as arguably the most notorious and harmful example of racist urban planning in the country. The coalition urges Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYS DOT) to do the following:
- Remove the so-called elevated “connector” highway from the project. This is unnecessary for repairing the bridges along the highway, and expanding the highway will leave a permanent, negative impact on the area.
- Fully study and explore alternatives to the current plan and preparing a full environmental impact statement (EIS) on the project.,
- Plan with the Bronx community – through charrettes, Town Halls, and Incorporating feedback provided through the Reimagining the Cross Bronx project into planning for the full corridor.
- Make the information that should have been public since September 12, 2024 available on the NYS DOT website, the start of the one-year clock on the project.
A public hearing is rumored to be set for early 2025, but there is no official information about the current project’s timeline publicly available.
The No CBE Coalition includes:
- Local Bronx-based non-profit organizations: the Bronx River Alliance, Loving the Bronx, The POINT Community Development Corporation, The Bronx Council for Environmental Quality, Nos Quedamos, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, Mothers on the Move, South Bronx Unite, Rocking the Boat, Bronx Health REACH, and the Bronx is Blooming;
- Regional advocacy organizations: Riders Alliance, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Transportation Alternatives, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, NYC Bird Alliance, Riverkeeper, Save the Sound, and Bike JC;
- Bronx community groups: Concrete Friends, Drew Gardens, Bronx River Community Garden, Morning Glory Community Garden, Friends of Soundview Park, the Bronx River Greenway Team, Bronx Girl Bike Gang, and the Harlem River Working Group;
- Local Bronx institutions: Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School, Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center, and Community Board 6;
- And businesses: Yoga 4 the Bronx and Patagonia UWS.
“The tremendous progress that we’ve seen in the Bronx over the past several decades has come from the elevation of community-based visions, implemented through deep and meaningful partnership with partners in government. But this Cross Bronx Expressway plan is a throwback of the worst type – in a Robert Moses style with highway engineers working in secret to hoist destructive plans on a community they don’t believe knows what’s best for itself,” said Siddhartha Sánchez, Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance. ”With the public health crises we are facing, all we now know about climate change and the public participation that is necessary for democracy, we are calling on NY State to plan with the Bronx community to meet the mobility and environmental needs we have identified.”
After several decades of damage to Bronx neighborhoods, the Cross Bronx Expressway is aging. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) wants to rebuild the elevated portions where bridges have exceeded their useful lifespan. But wrapped up in the effort, they are planning a series of new, parallel bypass highways – over the Bronx River and Starlight Park – that will divert traffic during years of heavy construction and permanently expand the corridor.
Elected officials representing the area’s people are stunned at the way this proposal threatens community health and wellbeing, and undermines community-led initiatives supported by federal funding.
In their November 18 letter to the governor, US Reps. Ocasio-Cortez and Torres called expanding the highway “a doubling down of Robert Moses’ policies” and demanded to see alternate proposals. They condemned the project because it “undermines the very goals of ‘Reimagining the Cross Bronx,’” the community-driven highway capping study. They warned Governor Hochul that “continuing to scar the South Bronx with more highways runs counter to the environmental and public health needs of our constituents.”
Community groups are appalled by the nature of the proposal, lack of community engagement, and the impacts that it will bring, as well as the way that NYSDOT is failing to inform the public.
“Currently, the air pollution from the Cross Bronx Expressway is so toxic that those of us who live in Bronx River Houses cannot open our windows. Ever. The idea that the State wants to make it wider to add traffic and bring it even closer to our homes is like a death threat,” said Norma Saunders, president of the Tenant Association for Bronx River Houses. “We should be trying to reduce traffic and pollution — not putting money into plans, concocted in secret, that will make it worse.”
“New York State DOT’s proposal for a new service road along the Cross Bronx Expressway is a slap in the face to Bronx residents. Bronx Community Board 6 and the elected leadership of the Bronx have raised concerns about the design, environmental impact, and increased pollution Bronx residents will be exposed to if this road is built. The response letter the Community Board received from NYSDOT did not even attempt to answer any of our questions,” said Rafael Moure-Punnett, District Manager of Bronx Community Board 6.
“I’m a born and raised Bronx resident from Co-Op City who moved to this area of the Bronx three years ago. In the time that I’ve lived here, my body feels attacked on all fronts. No matter which direction I walk, I’m surrounded by highways… my lungs are constantly fighting. I walk down the sidewalk in the summer, trying not to pass out from heat stroke and I feel the heat from parked cars, car exhaust, and the concrete suffocating me,” said Anike Cherry, local resident and member of Morning Glory Community Garden. “We need trees. We need soil. We need native plants and parks, community gardens and rain gardens. We need true and safe pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure. We need safe, reliable public transit. We do not need highway expansions and fake ‘multi modal connectors.’ So DOT, what we the community affected by this project are telling you is, do the bridge repairs and leave the rest alone.”
Advocates see the plan as part of a larger, disturbing pattern.
“When she first took office, Governor Hochul had the wisdom to cancel the backwards boondoggle LaGuardia AirTrain. Expanding the Cross Bronx would be an even worse mistake. The governor’s Department of Transportation has tried desperately to greenwash the new highway as a ‘community connector.’ But another bridge over the river and the park will divide communities to the north and south. Vague intentions to improve bus service and bike access make little sense: There’s no bus route to begin with and the bike path would be extremely steep and inaccessible. Once again, we need the governor’s foresight to cancel this awful project,” said Danny Pearlstein, Policy and Communications Director, Riders Alliance.
“Expanding the Cross Bronx doubles down on over half a century of harm caused by car-centric planning, bringing more traffic, pollution, and health risks to Bronx residents,” said Jaqi Cohen, Director of Climate and Equity Policy at Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “Instead, we need NYSDOT to focus on solutions that will actually benefit community members, like highway capping, expansion of green spaces, and better transit to repair these injustices. The Bronx deserves better.”
“New York shouldn’t widen a single highway in 2024, but especially not a Robert Moses-era highway in the Bronx,” said Shawn Garcia, Director of Advocacy at Transportation Alternatives. “The Cross Bronx has brought disastrous air pollution and noise pollution to the Bronx for decades, and we must explore ways to reimagine the highway, not widen it. We will fight this — and any — highway widening every step of the way, and we won’t stop until we’ve reversed the generations of harm the Cross Bronx, the BQE, and other highways have brought to New York City. We’re proud to stand with so many community groups and local advocates saying no to new highway construction in the Bronx.”
“The Cross Bronx Expressway has long been a symbol of environmental injustice, dividing our communities and burdening Bronx residents with decades of harmful pollution. As we confront the 5 Bridges project, we must reject outdated planning strategies that prioritize highways over human health. I stand with the Bronx River Alliance and our community in demanding solutions that center our voices and create a healthier, more equitable future for the Bronx.” NY State Senator Nathalia Fernandez , NYS Senator D34
“Today, we are sending a clear and firm message: the Bronx will not stand for transportation projects that repeat the environmental and social injustices of the Robert Moses era. The proposed Cross Bronx Expressway expansion, which adds more elevated lanes over the Bronx River, does nothing to heal the environmental harm our communities have endured for decades. Instead, it threatens to worsen our air quality, pollute our waterways, and disrupt access to our parks and Greenway,” said New York City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías, who represents District 18. “Our communities deserve cleaner air, safer streets, and healthier environments—not more concrete and traffic. I stand united with my colleagues in government and community organizations across the Bronx in strong opposition to this harmful project. We must prioritize sustainable solutions that protect the well-being of our residents and future generations.”
“As we confront the enduring environmental and health challenges posed by the Cross Bronx Expressway, it is imperative that we prioritize the voices and needs of our community in shaping any improvements. Our goal is to create transit solutions that unite neighborhoods, not divide them further. I extend an invitation to the commissioner of DOT to engage the community in their grave concerns on this issue. We should be capping the Bronx, not expanding it.” Assembly Member Landon Dais, Assembly District 77
“Bronx communities have made their stance clear – if it goes forward, this project must prioritize the communities’ needs, and it must comply with our state’s climate law, the Climate Leadership and Communities Protection Act. DOT has indicated that it has internal agency guidance on how to apply this law here, it must provide this guidance to the community without further delay, or no engagement can be appropriate and meaningful.” Caroline L. Chen, Director, Environmental Justice, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
“The East Coast Greenway Alliance stands with our partners in the Bronx in opposing highway expansion over the Bronx River Greenway, which forms part of our 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway interstate active transportation route from Maine to Florida. To confront the challenge of climate change, we must invest in transformative, sustainable transportation solutions like greenways – not in widening the very same highways that have divided and harmed our communities for decades.” Sofia Barandiaran, New Jersey & New York Greenway Manager, East Coast Greenway Alliance
ADDITIONAL MEDIA CONTACTS
Danny Pearlstein, Riders Alliance, danny@ridersalliance.org, (917) 862-0211
Shared Media Folder:
Includes full recording of the press event, selected photos, and NYSDOT presentation file.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FwX-3qz8VwTolp9yMLoPk50U8f70qJRi?usp=sharing
Additional Materials
- AM Reyes and Elected Officials call on NYSDOT to address concerns about impact on Bronx Communities – https://www.instagram.com/p/DAWHC9yun5_/
- NYS DOT Website Links (neither are easily found or have information about the public process):
- Bronx River Alliance Information on 5 Bridges Project (see Resources section at bottom): https://bronxriver.org/post/news/cross-bronx-5-bridges-project
- New York Congressmembers Ritchie Torres and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Write to Governor Kathy Hochul Opposing Cross Bronx Expressway Connector Roads Plan: https://ritchietorres.house.gov/posts/new-york-congressmembers-ritchie-torres-and-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-write-to-governor-kathy-hochul-opposing-cross-bronx-expressway-connector-roads-plan
Resources
- One Page Project Snapshot
- BxRA Virtual Info Session
- Submitted Letter to NYSDOT
- Press Release: New Report Shows Major State Agencies Violate NY Climate Act
- NYLPI & NY Renews: Flouting the Law CLCPA Report (pages 17-18)
Press
- The City (7/31/24): Local Opposition Grows Against Project to ‘Transform’ Cross Bronx Expressway
- Streetsblog (8/15/24): Boondoggle: State And Feds Are Dumping Yet Another Giant Highway on The Bronx
- Streetsblog (11/5/24): State Now Considering Car-Free Connector Next To Cross-Bronx Expwy Instead of Covert Highway
- Streetsblog (11/18/2024): Reps. Torres, AOC Join to Oppose Hochul Effort to Widen Cross Bronx Expressway
- NY Public Radio (9/20/24): Brian Lehrer Show Segment: “Undoing Robert Moses’ Legacy”
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