July 15, 2021

Stretching from Hillside Avenue to the Cross Island Parkway, Braddock Avenue is a critical thoroughfare

The New York City Departments of Design and Construction, Environmental Protection, and Transportation today joined with Council Member Barry S. Grodenchik and other local leaders near Breininger Park to celebrate the long-awaited resurfacing of Braddock Avenue. As part of a $58 million project to improve street conditions, alleviate flooding, and upgrade infrastructure, Braddock Avenue is one of many local streets that are receiving capital upgrades from the City.

“The City’s critical water and sewer infrastructure is buried beneath roadways so coordinating capital upgrades helps to ensure that resurfaced roadways remain in pristine condition for as long as possible,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “Thank you to Council Member Grodenchik and local leaders for your advocacy and thank you to local residents and businesses for your patience during the construction.”

“Braddock Avenue was in serious need of repair, but today we can celebrate its repaving and the fact that it is nice and smooth,” said Council Member Grodenchik. “Thanks to the advocacy of local civic organizations and the hard work of the New York City Department of Transportation, the New York City Department of Design and Construction, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, residents and businesses can enjoy a smooth ride along this important corridor.”

The three agencies—DDC, DEP, and DOT—spent years completing necessary work to alleviate the poor conditions of the road. Before the repaving, 260 feet of sanitary sewer and 510 feet of water main along Braddock Avenue between Billings and Ransom Streets were replaced. DDC and DEP completed these important infrastructure upgrades prior to DOT repaving the road surface to avoid having to rip up the roadway again to repair any of the buried infrastructure in the future.

“As a major thoroughfare between Hillside Avenue and Jamaica Avenue, the resurfacing of Braddock Avenue has been long overdue,” said NY State Senator John C. Liu. “Much thanks to the City and Council Member Grodenchik for taking the necessary steps to get this project going and working with the residents’ concerns during the construction process to provide immediate relief to the community.”

“I rejoice with the residents and businesses of Queens who can now use Braddock Avenue safely,” said Assembly Member David I. Weprin. “Speaking up brought about the improvements we see here today. Thank you to the City for making these much-needed repairs to our urban infrastructure.”

“Queens CB13 is extremely pleased by the leadership taken by Council Member Barry S. Grodenchik in getting the relevant parties on the same page for this important thoroughfare in Bellerose to get repaved,” said Mark McMillan, District Manager of Queens Community Board 13. “Residents and businesses can finally have the benefit of Braddock Avenue as a smooth street in their neighborhood.”

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing approximately 1 billion gallons of high quality drinking water each day to more than 9 million residents, including 8.3 million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $20.1 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.