Big changes are expected to soon come to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and on Thursday night Downtown Brooklyn residents gathered to voice what they want to see fixed. 

The big focus of the upcoming changes is on the corridor between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street, which the city’s Department of Transportation is looking to fix in order to connect the communities and improve the roadway’s conditions. 

“We want to make sure there are places where people have the ability to connect to work to health care to schools. That they feel safe to cross their streets,” said Julie Bero, Chief Strategy Officer at the DOT. “… we can improve the quality of life through green space and public space, and really make sure people can go about their lives in daily comfort.” 

The conversation was the first in-person meeting, and two prior virtual meetings were held with community members. The discussions are aimed to help provide context about the corridor vision and process. The city wants to keep the infrastructure sustainable and pursue federal grants with stakeholder involvement of elected officials and the community. 

The DOT will host workshops focused on the area known as "BQE Central," where participants can learn about the history, current conditions, and previous efforts to reimagine this section of the expressway.