AOC to Gov Hochul: Don't Widen the Cross Bronx Expressway!

BRONX, NY (04/02/2026) (readMedia)-- Today, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to Governor Hochul and the New York State Department of Transportation urging officials to halt all remaining plans to expand the Cross Bronx Expressway, and repair the highway within its existing footprint. The state's planned expansion could bring significant health and environmental impacts to the 64,000-plus Bronxites living along the sited project area, including 3,000 public housing residents battling toxic air quality at Bronx River Houses directly across the street. After missing the original federal deadline, NYSDOT now has until April 7th to issue its final design plan for the Cross Bronx 5 Bridges project.

Read the full letter here and below.

Per NYSDOT's own environmental assessment, widening the Cross Bronx could increase truck traffic by up to 33% during peak times. Even as Bronx families continue battling sky high asthma rates and the worst health outcomes in all of New York, state officials are still ignoring safer project alternatives and various community-identified solutions to mitigate traffic and pollution, outlined in the Reimagine the Cross Bronx study. Under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, impacted residents have up to 4 months to appeal NYSDOT's final decision, if officials move forward with an expansion.

"A $900-million repair project in one of the state's most congested and environmentally overburdened corridors demands rigorous planning that puts residents first. Given the environmental and health hazards associated with NYSDOT's proposed expansion options, I am concerned that any of the proposed expansion alternatives, including the addition of a shared-use path, would only deepen the burdens our communities have long endured," said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"With a Cross Bronx expansion still on the table, decades of progress are on the line. Our communities have fought long and hard to restore the Bronx River from an open sewer and transform the surrounding area. But with families here still choking on highway pollution, our work is far from over. We refuse to stand by and watch state officials take the Bronx back half a century with even more traffic and pollution. That's why we're urging the Governor to halt the expansion and invest in mitigation to protect our communities before history repeats itself," said Siddhartha Sánchez, Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance.

Letter

April 2, 2026

The Honorable Kathy Hochul

Governor of New York State

NYS State Capitol Building

Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Hochul,

On behalf of my constituents and nearly 64,000 local residents impacted by this project, I am requesting that your administration reject any plans to expand the Cross Bronx Expressway beyond its current footprint. Instead, I urge the state to prioritize standard bridge repairs and identify safer, more effective solutions that reduce traffic and improve air quality before construction begins on the upcoming 5 Bridges project.

As the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) works to finalize its design selection for the Cross Bronx's rehabilitation by April 7th, Bronx residents, community organizations, and local representatives have raised serious concerns about both the project's environmental review and the public engagement process surrounding it. My constituents have been clear: they want the state to pursue alternative strategies that meaningfully expand mass transit access in The Bronx.

A $900-million repair project in one of the state's most congested and environmentally overburdened corridors demands rigorous planning that puts residents first. Given the environmental and health hazards associated with NYSDOT's proposed expansion options, I am concerned that any of the proposed expansion alternatives, including the addition of a shared-use path, would only deepen the burdens our communities have long endured.

Since the moment Robert Moses directed the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway, it has unleashed a steady torrent of air pollution. For generations, Bronxites have been forced to watch the highway destroy the environment around them and burden their families with chronic disease. Yet, current renderings propose extending the Cross Bronx Expressway up to 45 feet closer to Bronx River Houses, home to 3,000 public housing residents living directly across the planned construction site. Families in this neighborhood are already battling some of the highest asthma rates statewide as a result of Cross Bronx pollution.

The Reimagine the Cross Bronx study already outlines several viable strategies to undo the highway's generational health and economic impacts on the surrounding corridor. I am urging the agency to consider standard bridge repairs and further issue safer alternatives to reduce Cross Bronx traffic and improve air quality, before construction begins.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Member of Congress

BACKGROUND

The New York State Department of Transportation is currently proposing the Cross Bronx "5 Bridges Project," a $900-million plan (including $150 million of federal funding for reconnecting communities harmed by highways) that threatens to exacerbate environmental inequities facing the South Bronx. Despite heeding community concerns and scrapping four of its most noxious plans - including a new mile-long polluting roadway - Governor Hochul and NYSDOT are not reducing traffic and are still proposing expanding the Cross Bronx by 50 feet.

The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition is urging NYSDOT and Governor Hochul to conduct the needed standard bridge repair without expanding the highway, and work with community members toward more equitable, environmentally just traffic and air quality solutions for the corridor.

Why Expanding the Cross Bronx Isn't Viable

The Cross Bronx's enormous environmental footprint has only worsened over the years. In the U.S., fossil fuel-powered vehicles are a major source of air pollution and heat-trapping emissions, releasing more than 50% of the nitrogen oxide found in our air. Nearly 150,000 vehicles, including 18,000 trucks, use the Cross Bronx daily. State DOT's environmental assessment notes that during peak times, heavy truck traffic could increase by as much as 33% if the agency proceeds with an expansion.

In 2022, NYSDOT illegally dumped pieces of the roadway directly into the Bronx River after demolishing a Cross Bronx entrance ramp during a similar rehabilitation project. Even if the state files permits, local residents are still concerned that DOT's project may similarly impact the river, under the current "5 Bridges" project. Thanks to sustained remediation efforts, wildlife has slowly returned to the river following the incident, including threatened birds such as herons and even dolphins. But during ongoing river clean-ups with local volunteers, residents continue to find construction waste tossed from the expressway into the recovering waterway. State DOT's remaining plan threatens to reverse this hard-won progress and drive worsened air quality, increased pollution, and more chronic illness in an already overburdened community.

Community Alternatives for the Cross Bronx

Since the 1970s, community members have long advocated for investment in safe, dignified, and simple improvements for South Bronx neighborhoods. After years of grassroots organizing to expand and transform the former industrial site into a vital community resource, Starlight Park has recently doubled in size; the state-proposed expansion now threatens this precious parkland. Meanwhile, existing east-west corridors along the Cross Bronx, including some of its most dangerous intersections on 174th Street, 177th Street, and East Tremont Avenue have been ignored and neglected for decades.

In 2014, City Council awarded NYCDOT the funds to create signalized crossings at five intersections around E 177th St. and E Tremont Ave. Over a decade later, the project still hasn't been completed, depriving local residents of accessible pathways. The state's planned expansion ignores the rest of E 177th St and other proposed connections along the highway, in a departure from residents' top priorities. As outlined in the community's visioning process for the Cross Bronx, Bronxites are seeking alternatives that reduce traffic, restore community access to green space, and reconnect riverside neighborhoods along the expressway.

About Bronx River Alliance: The Bronx River Alliance serves as a coordinated voice for the river and works in harmonious partnership to protect, improve and restore the Bronx River corridor so that it can be a healthy ecological, recreational, educational and economic resource for the communities through which the river flows.

About the Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition: The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion coalition is composed of Bronx grassroots groups, environmental justice organizations, and advocates for safe and healthy transportation. Together, we are fighting to implement a positive community-led vision that reverses the harms done to the public health, environment, and social and economic life of the Bronx by the Expressway. To realize this vision requires stopping new highway expansions along the Cross Bronx – beginning with New York State DOT's current plan to widen the CBE.

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