Communities Across New York To Demand No More #HochulHighway Expansions

As NYS moves ahead with DOT projects to widen polluting highways across the state, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Catskills residents will rally for safe, sustainable alternatives to get around

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BROOKLYN, NY (08/11/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, members of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition, Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition, and ReThink Route 17 Alliance will rally against city and state DOT plans to expand highways alongside local elected officials, transit riders, and youth.

Watch the livestream here.

Currently, Governor Kathy Hochul and the Department of Transportation are considering plans to widen the Cross Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens corridors, in addition to the Hudson Valley's Route 17, despite widespread pushback from community members and electeds. Both expressways collectively carry nearly 300,000 polluting vehicles daily - including 18,000 trucks on the Cross Bronx and 13,000 trucks on the BQE - directly adjacent to schools, playgrounds, and public spaces in neighborhoods that low-income residents, immigrants, and people of color predominantly call home.

Advocates will urge Gov. Hochul and DOT to invest in safe, sustainable alternatives to get around, rather than expanding the Cross Bronx with a parallel highway, or widening Route 17. They will also call for a corridor-wide transformation of the BQE that centers environmental justice, instead of expanding its cantilever section.

WHO:

Comptroller Brad Lander; Senator Nathalia Fernandez; Assemblymember Emily Gallagher; Councilmember Jennifer Gutierrez; Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Office of the Brooklyn Borough President; Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition (Stop the CBE); Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition (BQE EJC); Rethink Route 17 Alliance; Bronx River Alliance; El Puente; Catskills Mountainkeeper; Tri-State Transportation Campaign; Riders Alliance; New York City Environmental Justice Alliance; Transportation Alternatives; Open Plans; Patagonia UWS; Bronx Health REACH; Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School; Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice; Make Justice Normal; North Brooklyn Neighbors; Brooklyn Heights Association; [List in formation]
WHAT:

A rally with electeds, youth, and transit and environmental advocacy groups urging DOT and Gov. Hochul to suspend three expansion projects targeting the Brooklyn-Queens and Cross Bronx Expressways, and Hudson Valley’s Route 17. While the BQE and Cross Bronx rank among New York’s dirtiest, most congested corridors, all three projects divert funding away from critical transit and safety improvements to supercharge highway infrastructure. Bilingual, Spanish-speaking advocates will call for safe, sustainable alternatives that protect the environment and community health.
WHEN: Monday August 11, 2025 at 10:30AM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
WHERE: Continental Army Plaza in Williamsburg
S 4th St and Roebling
Brooklyn, New York 11211
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