Brooklyn, Queens residents back proposed streetcar route, survey finds

A majority of residents living along New York City's proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) streetcar corridor are in support of the project, according to the results of a recent survey.

In a telephone survey of 701 voters living along the route, 74 percent supported the project, which would run 16 miles along the East River in Brooklyn and Queens. Public relations firm Global Strategy Group conducted the survey on behalf of the Friends of the BQX advocacy group.

The survey results show that residents in those boroughs "overwhelmingly believe the BQX is a much-needed solution" for providing access to good-paying jobs, said Ya-Ting Liu, executive director of the Friends of the BQX.

"These findings echo what we’re hearing loud and clear in communities throughout the corridor — that New York's 100-year-old Manhattan-centric transit system doesn't meet their needs and that there must be a better way to get around," Liu said in a statement.

The proposed streetcar route would serve an estimated 50,000 riders each day, according to the Friends of the BQX.

In February, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to build the $2.5 billion streetcar line running from Astoria in Queens to Sunset Park in Brooklyn.