Sen. Rivera, ~1000 Bronxites Continue Call for Governor to Extend Cross Bronx Widening Public Comment Period

BRONX, NY (01/09/2026) (readMedia)-- Today, the Bronx River Alliance sent a petition from nearly 1,000 community members opposing the state's plan to expand the Cross Bronx, and urging Governor Hochul and the State Department of Transportation to extend the public comment deadline for impacted residents to assess the project's climate and health impacts. Senate Health Committee Chair Gustavo Rivera echoed community concerns in a letter to state officials, requesting a 60-day extension to deepen community input and ensure that "future generations in the South Bronx grow up in a safer and healthier environment." Right before the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday, state DOT released its environmental assessment, leaving community members with a month-long public comment period overlapping with major holidays to review nearly 6,000 pages of technical material.

Read the full letter here and below.

After successfully stopping state plans to build a new, mile-long polluting roadway last October, Bronxites are pushing back against state DOT's remaining proposals, which could widen the Cross Bronx by 50 feet. With construction fast approaching this spring, the state's environmental assessment still includes options that threaten substantial environmental and community health impacts for at least the next 80 years.

Last November, Rep. Ritchie Torres, Senator Rivera, and Council Member Justin Sanchez joined the Bronx River Alliance and a coalition of citywide advocates demanding stronger outreach and a 90-day public comment period at minimum. Despite months of advocacy from Bronx groups and a rushed series of meetings marked by low attendance - including a last-minute meeting while Latinx families celebrated Three Kings' Day - agency reps dismissed requests for more time and pressed forward with the original January 9th deadline. Previously, 21 local community and advocacy groups sent a letter to the Governor and NYSDOT requesting more engagement for the 64,000 residents living along the project's sited area.

"The Cross Bronx 5 Bridges project has the power to undo generations of environmental and racial injustice. But due to a rushed review process over the major holiday season, working families of color are missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shape the future of our borough. Bronxites have lived with the pollution of the Cross Bronx for almost 7 decades, waiting for meaningful investments in our neighborhoods. It's on Governor Hochul and NYSDOT to ensure the Bronx gets a real say in this project - that starts with extending the public comment period and eliminating all plans to expand the Cross Bronx," said Siddhartha Sánchez, Executive Director, Bronx River Alliance and member of the Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition.

"Bronx leaders and residents who will be impacted by this $900 million dollar project deserved to spend the holiday season with their families, and not reviewing a 6000 page document before the first full week of the year is up. The Cross Bronx has caused enough damage in our borough for almost seven decades. It is only fair that we get this project right to ensure future generations in the South Bronx grow up in a safer and healthier environment. We owe it to our community," said Senate Health Committee Chair Gustavo Rivera.

"Currently, the air pollution from the Cross Bronx Expressway is so toxic that those of us who live in Bronx River Houses cannot safely open our windows. So imagine our surprise to learn that our families got only ONE month to review this project's environmental impacts. We quite literally can't even come up for air," said Norma Saunders, president of the Tenant Association for Bronx River Houses. "The Bronx has waited decades to reimagine the Cross Bronx - we deserve more than a rushed process. Governor Hochul and Commissioner Dominguez must extend the public comment period to 90 days and increase their outreach, so all Bronxites get the chance to weigh in."

"As New York moves forward to fix the Cross Bronx Expressway, it's crucial that we get it right the first time, so we're not creating new problems years down the line. This process needs more community input, and we need to take this opportunity to improve connectivity in the area, especially along Tremont Avenue, 174th, and 177th streets," said Ben Furnas, Executive Director, Transportation Alternatives.

"New Yorkers aren't reading all that," said Riders Alliance Policy & Communications Director Danny Pearlstein of the doorstop assessment. "But when it comes to widening history's most notorious highway, we can't afford to say, 'I'm happy for you tho...or sorry that happened.' We need a serious study, a set of alternatives that do not expand the shadow of the Cross Bronx Expressway, and an end to clever diversions like the cancelled diversion structure, all but designed to distract from the grave harm to the surrounding neighborhoods. Instead, we need more, better and safer options for getting around."

"Public engagement should have a baseline of sufficient time for laypersons to review, digest and thoughtfully comment on the projects at hand," said Caroline Chen, Director of Environmental Justice at the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. "Here we have another example of the State rushing through the regulatory process when it is convenient for the State, but this comes at a huge expense to New Yorkers whose everyday lives will be impacted by the agency decision. We demand better from our elected leaders and government officials."

"The Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion coalition has fought long and hard for this moment, and we insist on adequate time for the community to review the recently released environmental assessment. The current review schedule is unreasonably rushed, and we demand that the NYSDOT extend the timeline. Beyond that, we reiterate our position that there be no widening of the Cross Bronx Expressway, and that the funding be redirected to community-driven alternatives and the commitments highlighted in the Reimagine the Cross Bronx Expressway study," said Adrian Cacho, Senior Organizer, Open Plans.

"Save the Sound believes it is imperative to provide the tens of thousands of residents living along the 5 Bridges project corridor with sufficient time to review the highly technical environmental assessment," said David Abreu, Clean Water Advocacy Specialist, Save the Sound. "With lifetime impacts to water and air quality, tree canopy, and infrastructure on the line, this community engagement process must be inclusive and thorough, and account for the significant interruptions caused by the holiday season."

"As a long-time advocate of effective public participation in major land use and infrastructure projects and a leader in environmental review reform, the Municipal Art Society of New York urges Governor Hochul and the NYSDOT to extend the public review period for the Environmental Assessment for the Cross Bronx Expressway 5 Bridges Project to 90 days. With the holiday season upon us and the magnitude of this project in mind, the additional time will go a long way to ensuring that the final project truly reflects community input," said Keri Butler, President, Municipal Art Society of New York.

"Rushing through three hearings in the midst of the holiday season, with only 30ish working days for comment on a 5,000 + page document, reads more like a box checking exercise than serious community engagement. DOT should be providing ample and accessible opportunities for feedback, not trying to bum-rush the public," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director, Common Cause NY.

Letter

January 7, 2026

Marie Therese Dominguez

Commissioner

New York State Department of Transportation

Dear Commissioner Dominguez,

I strongly urge you to extend the comment period by 60 days for the Environmental Assessment of the Cross Bronx Expressway 5 Bridges project. The timeline provided by the NYSDOT is not sufficient to carefully analyze and make necessary comments to the forthcoming project. Bronx Community Board 6 alongside environmental and transportation experts are working closely to

thoroughly review the documents to ensure that Bronx residents who will be impacted by this $900 million dollar project are not negatively impacted by the redevelopments. We insist you reconsider and extend the deadline from January 9th to March 10th.

On November 25th, I joined advocates and issued a public statement urging an extension. This project deserves careful deliberation after a wrought process around the original 5 Bridges proposal which was not supported by the local community. Bronx leaders and residents who will be impacted by this $900 million dollar project deserved to spend the holiday season with their families, and not reviewing a 6000 page document before the first full week of the year is up.

The Cross Bronx has caused enough damage in our borough for almost seven decades. It is only fair that we get this project right to ensure future generations in the South Bronx grow up in a safer and healthier environment. We owe it to our community.

Extending the timeline to March 10th will allow community groups and experts to provide comprehensive feedback on the proposed options.

I look forward to your response and understanding.

Respectfully,

Gustavo Rivera

New York State Senator

33rd Senate District, The Bronx

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, a figure that will increase if state DOT proceeds with its planned expansion of the structure.

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 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. Residents successfully advocated for the expansion of Starlight Park, which has doubled in size after years of organizing to transform the space into a vital community resource. But 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 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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