C2SMART Director Kaan Ozbay, Associate Director for Outreach and Technology Transfer Hani Nassif, and Affiliate Faculty Member Mitch Moss have been named to a new expert panel formed to evaluate options for reconstruction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. According to an announcement from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, the panel will consider solutions for replacing the highway, including the portion that supports the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, a popular pedestrian walkway overlooking the East River.

The 16-member panel includes leaders from urban planning, engineering, construction, traffic modeling and historic preservation, and its formation has been covered in several local media outlets. The group of independent experts is expected to bring new perspectives and insights to a complex infrastructure project that has proven controversial, with several proposed plans sparking opposition from the public. The panel will begin meeting in April and is expected to deliver conclusions and recommendations by the end of summer 2019.

View of Brooklyn Queens Expressway and Brooklyn Heights Promenade.

In addition to Professors Kaan Ozbay and Hani Nassif, the members of the panel are:

Carlo Scissura, NY Building Congress (Chair)
Rohit Aggarwala, Sidewalk Labs
Vincent Alvarez, New York City Central Labor Council
Kate Ascher, BuroHappold Engineering
Elizabeth Goldstein, Municipal Arts Society
Henry Gutman, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp./Brooklyn Bridge Park
Kyle Kimball, Con Edison
Mitchell Moss, NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Benjamin Prosky, American Institute of Architects
Denise Richardson, General Contractors Association
Ross Sandler, New York Law School
Jay Simson, American Council of Engineering Companies of New York
Tom Wright, Regional Plan Association
Kathryn Wylde, Partnership for NYC