The turnout for three public hearings about a $900 million plan to repair the crumbling infrastructure of five bridges on a stretch of the Cross Bronx Expressway was underwhelming, with a handful of attendees adding their public comments to both the in-person and online hearings that wrapped up on Wednesday.
Community members and local environmental and transit groups said that the poor attendance at the three hearings for the massive infrastructure project is evidence that the public comment period and engagement process has not gone far enough to inform Bronx residents and capture meaningful community feedback.
Together the groups have formed the “Stop the Cross Bronx Expansion Coalition,” which has been pressuring the state to modify its plans for the bridge repairs, which the group argued goes beyond what’s necessary to maintain the safety of the highway’s infrastructure.
They’ve asked the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to extend the public comment period to 90 days to avoid conflicting with the busy holiday season, which they say doesn’t leave community members enough time to review and digest an over 5,500 page draft design plan and environmental assessment which was released on Nov. 18.
“This rushed review timeline simply doesn’t allow enough time for Bronx families to help shape this once in a generation project,” said Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance, Siddartha Sánchez. “We want standard bridge repairs that move us towards better air and water quality, but the state’s remaining plans still miss the mark.”
But officials from NYSDOT doubled down on the comment period’s timeline during the first hearing Wednesday, noting that the agency already extended the comment period up from the federal standard of 30 days to 52 days, leaving until Jan. 9 for community members to submit public comments.
NYSDOT Special Assistant Public Information Officer, Rolando Infante, when asked to clarify if the agency was outright denying the request for an extension, instead reiterated that the comment period had already been extended.
“Well, again we extended it to Jan. 9,” Infante said. “We brought in consideration of what the community wanted and we brought it past the 30 days, which is the federal standard.”
Infante said that the state’s timeline “gives plenty of times to synthesize the information.”
Advocates and community members have cited the document’s thousands of pages of information and technical terms as a barrier to a common, comprehensive understanding of the proposed project and its implications for the neighborhood.
While all parties agree that the bridges are in dire need of repairs, the details of the plan, such as an option to add a shared use path along the side of the highway or removing a crop of trees to make space to store construction materials and vehicles, have seen fierce opposition.
Members of the coalition pushed for more time because they said they want to fully understand all the details, how they may impact the health and environment of the surrounding neighborhood, and explore viable community led alternatives, where possible.
Infante told reporters at the hearing that the report also included an executive summary, which was significantly shorter, but still comprehensive. Experts from the state and federal level took time to answer questions about the plan and the environmental assessment for those who came to the hearing.
But residents, and advocates told the Bronx Times that they didn’t feel prepared to have an informed discussion about the proposal because they hadn’t been able to read through it over the holidays.
Edmundo Martinez, a community member who grew up in the neighborhood surrounding the expressway, told the Bronx Times that he hadn’t been able to read any of the document at all.
“I’m going to be perfectly candid,” Martinez said. “I’ve been working 12 to 16 hour shifts. I work for the city, so there’s a lot of work. You still got to rest, you got to take care of family, my dog has been in and out of the ER. So, I haven’t had time to sit down and read a 6,000 page technical document.”
Anna Berlanga, a Bronx & Uptown organizer with the transit advocacy group, Transportation Alternatives who also lives near the expressway said that she had more time than most to dedicate to studying the document, but still needed more time.
“ This is my job and I am finding it incredibly difficult to read and digest the 5,667 pages of this— and it’s my job,” Berlanga said.
Local representatives too, joined their constituents in pressuring Albany to extend its public comment period. State Senator Gustavo Rivera echoed the demand at a virtual press conference the day before Thanksgiving and Congress Member Ritchie Torres penned a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul on Dec. 2.
He told the Bronx Times that the bridge repairs are too important to overlook the critical step of meaningful public engagement.
“ There’s no project that has greater implications to the public health and air quality and longevity of the Bronx than the Cross Bronx Expressway,” Torres said. “It’s more important to get the project done right than to get it done hastily.”
He said that advocates like Martinez and Berlanga aren’t likely to let up any time soon.
“ The Bronx has a long tradition of environmental justice activists [who are] passionate about reimagining the Cross Bronx Expressway,” Torres said. “So, the pressure will show no signs of subsiding.”
Reach Sadie Brown at sbrown@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
