Image from MTA

Perpetual complaints about New York City’s transportation system are a significant part of New Yorkers’ love-hate relationship with the city. With Mayor de Blasio’s endorsement of the Brooklyn-Queens streetcar plan yesterday, here are five more transportation system plans that may become part of New Yorkers’ daily commute in the near future, and hopefully not part of their daily rant.

1. The Brooklyn-Queens Waterfront Light Rail 


Image from Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector

Also known as the Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar, this proposal aims to provide better transit options between Astoria, Long Island City and parts of South Brooklyn. The waterfront light rail will also link some of the fast-growing hubs in the two boroughs, such as Industry City in Sunset Park, Red Hook and Brooklyn Navy Yard. Despite mixed responses to the proposal, Mayor de Blasio is set to announce an endorsement of $2.5 billion to support the 16-mile scenic ride which would significantly change the city’s waterfront. The streetcars would move at approximately 12 miles per hour and it’s projected that a trip between Greenpoint and Dumbo would take 27 minutes, less than the speed currently by subway or bus. 

But a lot could change between now and the projected date a streetcar system would be in effect, as construction would not begin until 2019 and service not until at least 2024, The New York Times reports. While the proposal will not need approval from Albany or Governor Cuomo since it will only affect the streets, it will have to go through the Community Board review process, where it is bound to be controversial.