"During construction, NYC DOT will maintain access to portions of the Promenade at all times, to the extent feasible." That sentence from the City's BQE Central project page is the closest thing to a promise about the Promenade that exists right now. Read it closely. It mentions portions of the Promenade, and the access it offers is limited to what is feasible.
On October 2, 2026, the NYC Department of Transportation issued a Positive Declaration and a Draft Scope of Work for rehabilitating the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway from Atlantic Avenue to Nassau Street. That formally starts the environmental review. The filing also answers a question many people in Brooklyn Heights have carried since 2018: where does the traffic go while the triple cantilever is repaired? Under this plan, it goes down onto Furman Street and north over the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge. That shift spares the Promenade from closing outright. It also moves the decade of disruption onto the waterfront parks, playgrounds, and bridge paths around it.
What the October 2 filing settles, and what it leaves open
The project covers about 1.5 miles of highway and all 21 structures inside those limits. That includes the 0.4-mile triple cantilever, which runs from Joralemon Street just north of Atlantic Avenue to Washington Street. Some parts of the plan are now fixed in writing. Others are not.
| Question | Where it stands as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Widen or rebuild the highway? | Neither. The plan keeps the existing lanes, widths, and alignments, with two lanes in each direction through the cantilever. |
| What gets upgraded? | Drainage fixes, a new bridge railing that meets current standards, and improved lighting. |
| Columbia Heights overpass | Superstructure replaced, north abutment relocated and rebuilt. |
| Construction window | Start expected in 2029, completion before 2040. |
| Bypass along the cantilever | Two levels, inside the Furman Street right-of-way. |
| Bypass north of Columbia Heights | Shown over the Brooklyn Bridge approach, but DOT says it is still reviewing alternatives. |
| Promenade closure map | Not published. |
The 2029 start date is newer than what most people have heard. When the plan was first presented in late August, the Brooklyn Eagle reported a 2030 start, with traffic returning to the repaired highway in the third quarter of 2040. The October notice moves the start up to 2029. DOT also says it will "explore innovations aimed at shortening the duration of construction." Gothamist has reported the overall cost at $4 billion.
Two smaller details matter to anyone who knows the area block by block. DOT would acquire the vacant portion of 25 Joralemon Street that sits inside the existing BQE structure, but not the occupied part just east of it. The plan would also absorb small slivers of mapped parkland next to the roadway. That step requires alienation legislation in Albany and a home rule message from the City Council.
The temporary highway moves downhill
The first bypass would run beside the triple cantilever from just north of Atlantic Avenue to Columbia Heights, "within the Furman Street right-of-way below the promenade elevation." DOT's project page adds that this two-level structure would be "no higher than the existing Queens-bound level." Streetsblog describes it as two levels with two lanes on each deck. It also notes that the new structure would sit much closer to Brooklyn Bridge Park and the apartment buildings on Furman Street than the current highway does.
The history explains why this location was chosen. In 2018, the de Blasio administration proposed a temporary highway on the Promenade itself, which would have closed it for six years. The Brooklyn Heights Association fought that plan. Deputy Mayor Julia Kerson has said the current proposal "does lessen the community impacts of prior proposals" because it does not require a full closure. Gothamist's reporting still states that portions of the Promenade would close while the temporary highway is built.
So the Promenade goes from a six-year full closure under the 2018 plan to partial closures of a length nobody has stated yet. The heavy construction moves to the street below, alongside the park's entrances and the buildings along Furman.
North of Columbia Heights, the bridge walk and the small parks
The second bypass is the part of the plan that changed most quietly. DOT's current design shows a Queens-bound structure that would "go over the existing BQE and the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge," then tie back into the highway just west of the Manhattan Bridge. Streetsblog reported on October 1 that DOT had updated its project page sometime in September with renderings that show the scale more realistically. In those renderings, the bypass arches over the bridge approach's pedestrian boardwalk, its two-way bike path, and its roadways in Dumbo.
According to the same report, the route would directly affect Squibb Park, Hillside Dog Park, Anchorage Plaza, Clumber Corner, Bar and Grill Park, and Adam Yauch Park. It would also require removing Harry Chapin Playground, which DOT says would later be restored. The Draft Scope lists nearly all of these as open spaces the environmental review will examine, along with Pierrepont Playground, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Promenade, Cadman Plaza Park, and the Fruit Street Sitting Area.
None of this is final. DOT calls the alignments illustrative and says it "continues to review alternate design options at this stage of the project." The public documents do not yet place the structures in relation to Pier 1, the Squibb Park Bridge, or the berms along Furman Street.
Local reaction has been mixed. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and Council Member Lincoln Restler welcomed repairing the highway without widening it. They also warned that temporary highways could disrupt the neighborhood, and asked the City to look at connections to Brooklyn Bridge Park. Lara Birnback, executive director of the Brooklyn Heights Association, called the August plan "depressing." On October 1 she declined to comment on the new renderings, saying members were waiting to learn more. Some residents Gothamist spoke with on the Promenade viewed the repairs as necessary.
"Have you seen lately when it rains, how bad the flooding is? I think someone has to do something. If you just leave it, it's just gonna get worse, and you might lose the promenade and park access anyway." Jules Briody, a Brooklyn Heights resident, speaking to Gothamist
Why the repair has to happen
DOT's case for doing the work now is in its inspection findings: cracked concrete, exposed steel, rust, and water damage, some of it on parts that hold up the highway. The agency says the structure is safe today because of targeted interim repairs, automated enforcement against overweight trucks, and the reduction to two lanes on the cantilever. It adds that those measures "do not address the level of repair needed in the long-term." Overweight violations caught by the automated BQE system carry a $650 penalty.
That interim work is visible right now. One Staten Island-bound lane between Sands Street and Vine Street is closed through October 5 for deck replacement near Old Fulton Street. One-lane closures in the Queens-bound direction follow during early-morning hours from October 6 to 17. This is maintenance on the current structure, separate from the capital project.
The dates that set what gets studied
Scoping decides which questions the environmental impact statement must answer. The Positive Declaration already lists three areas of potentially substantial effect: open space, historic and cultural resources, and construction. Under construction, it names shadows, noise, air quality, transportation, urban design, and neighborhood character, among others. If a park entrance, a playground, or the bridge walk matters to how you use the neighborhood, the next seven weeks are the window to ask that it be studied.
- Tuesday, October 6: DOT virtual Q&A. CB6 lists it at 7:00 p.m. and Streetsblog at 6 p.m., so check the time at nyc.gov/bqe before logging on.
- Thursday, October 22, 11 a.m.: A second DOT virtual Q&A.
- Tuesday, November 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: In-person scoping meeting at New York City College of Technology, 300 Jay Street.
- Thursday, November 12, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Virtual scoping meeting on Zoom. Registration for both meetings is at nyc.gov/bqe.
- Monday, November 23: Written comments close at the end of the day. You can submit them through the project website's comment form, by email to [email protected], or by mail to NYC DOT Division of Bridges, BQE Central Project Team, Attention: Albert Silvestri, 55 Water Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10041.
Requests for a sign language interpreter, foreign language help, or mobility assistance must be made at least ten business days before a meeting. After this round, DOT expects a Final Scope in early 2027, a Draft EIS in late 2027, and a Final EIS in early 2028. The Draft EIS should be the first document to show a Promenade closure map and the exact footprint near Squibb Park and the bridge approach.
For more on the neighborhood beyond the highway, our Brooklyn Heights guide and our recent look at what's opening along Montague and Atlantic cover the blocks above the cantilever. Our Dumbo page covers the area the second bypass would cross.
The Scott / Robles Team follows the BQE Central review closely for clients who live along Columbia Heights, Furman Street, and the north end of the Heights. If you'd like help reading the Draft Scope against your own block, or want to talk through how the 2029 to 2040 timeline fits your plans, Contact Us.
