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Sheridan FAQs

Has it been decided that the Sheridan Exp will be taken down?

No. The NY State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is expected to make a final decision in 2012. They are considering either keeping or removing the Sheridan Exp. Either way NYSDOT would build new ramps off the Bruckner to Oak Point Avenue for trucks to directly access the Hunts Point food market. The Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance (SBRWA) is encouraging NYSDOT to consider the economic, environmental and quality of life benefits to local residents that will come from replacing the Sheridan Exp with parks, affordable housing, and local jobs and businesses. New York City is also beginning a study of the traffic impacts, economic opportunities, and community benefits that may come from removing the Sheridan Exp. Now is our chance to get the City to study the key issues that community residents raised in the townhall!

The Community Plan that was presented at the meeting is a vision, not a done deal. There is still time for community input. Be on the look-out for upcoming meetings in the next few months from SBRWA. 

Will traffic get worse in my neighborhood if the Sheridan Exp is removed?

In some neighborhoods traffic will get better when trucks use the proposed ramps off the Bruckner Exp to directly access the Hunts Point Market instead of using the Sheridan Exp and driving through South Bronx neighborhoods to get there. In order to make sure that cars don't move onto local streets, we need to encourage the City Department of Transportation (CDOT) to study all the concerns that neighborhood residents have, and create plans for improving access to the many highway options that are already available, such as the Bronx River Parkway and the Major Deegan Exp. The CDOT is doing a traffic analysis this year and they need your input about traffic concerns in your neighborhood. 

If we take out the Sheridan Exp and replace it with housing, how do we make sure it is affordable to the people of our communities?

The best way to ensure truly affordable housing is to organize South Bronx residents to advocate for their housing needs. Join the SBRWA and bring your neighbors, and together we can demand that New York City make affordability a central part of their study of the Sheridan Exp. There are many ways to plan for the creation of affordable housing, but the key ingredient is getting more community members involved to fight for or it! When we have a schedule of the City's meetings, we will send you the dates and you can also visit our website: www.southbronxvision.org 

Will removing the Sheridan create job and business opportunities for our communities?

Temporary construction jobs will be created to remove the highway, build the Oak Point Ave ramps, and construct the buildings and open space in the Sheridan Exp footprint. In addition, hundreds of permanent jobs will be created to maintain and manage the buildings, businesses, and parks that will replace the Sheridan Exp. Right now we need to encourage the City to consider how local residents can access the jobs and training opportunities that will come from removing the Sheridan Exp. If we are successful in closing the Sheridan Exp, you need to maintain your involvement and make sure that State agencies and private developers hire local people.

The New Community on the Sheridan Plan sounds interesting, but who ever heard of tearing down a highway?
Our New Community Plan is not unprecedented. Highway removal projects have succeeded with the Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco and with the Mt. Hood Freeway in Portland, Oregon. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Toronto, Canada, and Akron, Ohio are all in the process of tearing down elevated highways. These projects have all produced major economic and environmental benefits, and any traffic issues have been successfully mitigated.

Won’t traffic get worse if you tear a highway down? I don't want any more trucks driving down local streets!
Neither do we! In other cities where highways have been removed, the overall volume of traffic has usually decreased. And the Community Plan is designed specifically to deal with what are currently the worst traffic bottlenecks by providing direct access to Hunts Point from the Bruckner Expressway. Right now, since there is no exit into Hunts Point from the Bruckner, trucks get off early and use local streets to get to the markets. Our Community Plan put a direct exit in and out of Hunts Point at Leggett Ave., so trucks would no longer have to take local streets. The result? Less trucks in our neighborhoods and safer streets for everyone. And in July 2008 SDOT said that their plans for the Bruckner included an interchange the Oak Point freight yards right next to Leggett Ave., which is great news for SBRWA and for the community.

If the Sheridan is removed, what would happen to the land that it sits on?
SBRWA conducted community visioning meetings to get ideas about what the community wanted to see on the Sheridan land. Demapping the Sheridan would mean getting 28 acres of land along the Bronx River without displacing any families. Our New Community Plan addresses the needs of our community such as open space, access to parks, affordable housing, and economic opportunities. Our Plan would offer 1,200 unites of affordable housing, 500,000 square feet of commercial/community space, 700 new jobs, and long-term economic development! To view our entire Plan for the new community on the Sheridan, click here.

What about a compromise? Isn't there an idea to deck over the parts of the Sheridan that are underground and create an "urban boulevard?"

Converting the Sheridan to an “urban boulevard” isn’t a real compromise, or even a viable solution. There would still be a major truck route in front of four schools – just like the Sheridan but with stoplights and crosswalks, separating our communities from Starlight Park and the Bronx River. There would be no space for any new housing, businesses, open space, or other uses. Only a short section of the Sheridan – the ¼- mile stretch of the highway immediately south of Westchester Avenue - runs below the ground and could be decked over. This section is wedged between Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor tracks, and the elevated #6 train, and is not suitable for residential development. The “boulevard” proposal also does nothing to fix the interchange between the Sheridan and the Bruckner Expressway, or to improve access to Hunts Point. The SBRWA has never endorsed the boulevard idea because it isn't a compromise and fails to solve the problems that NYSDOT’s Environmental Impact Study is intended to address.

When will there be a decision about what to do with the Sheridan?
A decision about the Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange has been taking an very, very long time. In July 2008, NYSDOT concluded that the previously conceived extension of the Sheridan down Edgewater Road was physically impossible; something SBRWA had been saying for years. NYSDOT is now back to the design phase and expects to release a Draft Enviornmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in early 2010. Although this seems far away, it gives us time to really pressure our elected officials and organize both community and elected support for the New Community Plan. The more support the plan has, the better its chances on being chosen. If you want us to notify you of these meetings, send us an email.

I’m interested, and I’d like to know more about the New Community on the Sheridan Plan. What can I do?

You can sign our petition saying that you support alternative 1E, which would allow the New Community Plan to be built. You can also keep checking this website and attend the events and meetings hosted by SBRWA. Since this is a Community Plan, it is essential to have community support! By staying informed, debunking common myths about the Community Plan, and pressuring electeds to take a stand, we can organize the support we need to create a better quality of life for the South Bronx.

Or you can contact us at: 

Ashwin Balakrishnan
SBRWA Coordinator & Organizer
1384 Stratford Ave. Bronx, NY 10472
tel: 718.328.5622 ext. 16

e: ashwin.sbrwa@gmail.com

www.southbronxvision.org