News 12 | Brooklyn | Construction of 17th Avenue Pedestrian Bridge now 3 years behind schedule

The 17th Avenue Bridge over the Belt Parkway in Bath Beach is now at least three years behind schedule, according to the New York City Department of Transportation.

The bridge was first closed in the fall of 2021, with the DOT saying it needed to make one with a higher clearance, to avoid being hit by trucks. Ramps were also needed to be added to make it more accessible.

That deadline has come and gone, and the bridge is still not open. The DOT now says it expects the bridge to be done in the fall of 2026, which would be five years after it started.

“I don’t think really it’s even going to happen,” said Phyllis Capuano, who lives near the bridge, and echoed a feeling felt by many neighbors.

New York City Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso, who represents the area, says she shares the frustration.

“We have major bridges that have been constructed in New York City that were built in one fourth the time,” Santosuosso said.

Without it, neighbors are now looking at another summer of needing to walk over half a mile in either direction if they want to get down to the waterfront.

“It completely cuts off pedestrian access, that a lot of people – it was part of the reason that they moved here in the first place,” Santosuosso said.

News 12 was told by a source last summer that the delays were at first because of COVID, as well as navigating utilities underground.

The source now adds that have also been delays with the steel fabrication process, as well as design changes needed because of the low elevation.

“Everyone talks about it, that they complained, they say they wrote the city, they had a meeting here once, and nothing happens,” said Jaimie Mauro, a resident who lives across the street. “We never see our tax dollars at work at this point.”

While the construction site often looks like nothing is happening at it, the DOT says a lot of the concrete and steel pieces are actually being made and put together off-site, a process that is supposed to be faster.

“I was hopeful that with the change in administration and change in a DOT commissioner, we would see some urgency around this project,” said Santosuosso, “but it seems there’s a lack of urgency in this administration, just as there was in the last one.”

Santosuosso tells News 12 she plans to talk to new DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn at the March Transportation Committee hearing, with the hopes of getting him to understand the frustration.