Res 0015-2014

By Council Members Palma, Arroyo, Koo, Levin, Reynoso, Gibson, King, Vacca, Torres, Cohen, Rosenthal, Barron, Cornegy, Lander and Williams Whereas, In June 2013, multiple City agencies, led by the New York City Department of City Planning and the New York City Department of Transportation, completed its Sheridan-Hunts Point Land Use and Transportation Study (the Study) and made a series of final recommendations regarding what should be done with the 1.25 mile long Sheridan Expressway (the Sheridan) corridor in the Bronx, which connects the Bruckner Expressway and the Cross Bronx Expressway, as well as adjacent areas; and Whereas, The Sheridan was part of an abandoned highway plan to enable development throughout the Bronx, the consequence of which is a lack of efficient connectivity that impedes the economic growth of the area; and Whereas, The Sheridan has created well-documented negative impacts on the surrounding communities, especially related to poor air-quality caused by vehicle emissions, deadly intersections and physical isolation from services and amenities; and Whereas, The final recommendations of the Study include the construction of direct access ramps from the elevated Bruckner Expressway to the Hunts Point peninsula which hosts the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, the largest wholesale food distribution market in North America, and these ramps would aid in the efficient transportation of goods while also removing substantial truck traffic from local streets; and Whereas, The recommendations also include the installation of crosswalks, stoplights and other facilities to help make the corridor more pedestrian friendly and to improve access to the Bronx River waterfront and associated parks; and Whereas, The envisioned reconstruction would include the transformation of a portion of the Sheridan into an at-grade local boulevard, opening up developable land currently in the Sheridan footprint and would close at least two Sheridan ramps that are currently causing major overcrowding and impacting pedestrian safety; and Whereas, Implementing the recommendations of the Study would yield significant health and economic benefits while improving neighborhood cohesion and transportation in a currently overburdened area of the Bronx; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Governor and the New York State Department of Transportation to implement the recommendations of the Sheridan-Hunts Point Land Use and Transportation Study. JM Res2042/2013 LS 240/2014