Brooklyn's Progress
June 2004

Thank you very much for the opportunity to provide a statement today on the DEIS for the Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel. I am Kenneth Adams, President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and a Co-Chair of Move NY. The Chamber represents over 1,200 businesses throughout Brooklyn, and is dedicated to helping businesses grow and promoting the economic development of Brooklyn.  To that end, the Brooklyn Chamber advocates for projects that create jobs and stimulate investment in the borough’s economy.  Move NY is a coalition of leaders from the region’s business, labor, environmental, community and urban planning sectors dedicated to improving the region’s freight transportation system by constructing a Cross Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel underneath New York harbor.

I would like to express support for the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project, and the preferred alternative identified in the DEIS. I want to congratulate the NYCEDC and the project team for their work on the DEIS- they have been diligently and comprehensively studying this project for several years and should be commended for their efforts.

The DEIS clearly demonstrates that the Cross Harbor Tunnel would create significant environmental and economic benefits for the entire New York metropolitan region:

Reduced regional traffic congestion and improved travel efficiency,Improved regional air quality,
Increased road safety, and Economic growth and new jobs.

More specifically, the Cross Harbor Tunnel would provide the following transportation and economic benefits for Brooklyn:

A large reduction in the number of trucks crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (as many as 1,100 over a 24-hour period),A large reduction in the number of trucks on the Gowanus Expressway (as many as 336 over a 24-hour period), As many as 8,640 jobs, and As much as $295 million in personal income benefits.

With respect to any adverse impacts that may be caused by the construction of the tunnel in communities along the Bay Ridge Branch in Brooklyn, I am confident that it is possible for the Cross Harbor Freight Movement Project team to work with local residents, organizations and businesses to develop appropriate mitigation strategies and/or alternatives in order to address their concerns.