The Story of the BQE Documentary Screening
May 5, 2025
5:30pm- 8:00pm
︎︎︎ Modeling Community Visions
︎︎︎ BQE2053
On May 5th, we held a screening of The Story of the BQE documentary with Fifth Avenue Committee.
The film was introduced by Julian Morales, Organizing and Advocacy Manager of Fifth Avenue Committee. Following the film, Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee, led a panel discussion.
The panel included Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Racial Justice Center Director, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Maria Fernanda Pulido-Velosa, Educator & Social Justice/EJ Coalition Organizer, El Puente, and Monica Underwood, Co-Founder of Public Housing Civic Association.
About The Story of the BQE
“It’s now been 70 years since the highway was completed and its age is showing. Now is the perfect time to reimagine the BQE and repair the damage it continues to inflict on the community.”
-Segregation by Design (SBD)
The Story of the BQE documentary, produced by the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA) with NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, uses archival footage and photography to show how the construction of the 35-mile-long Brooklyn-Queens Expressway demolished historic neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, divided communities, and displaced hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the two boroughs. The Story of the BQE Film and Oral History project includes a web-based oral history archive comprising interviews with Brooklyn and Queens residents around the impact the highway has on their lives. This project expands IPA’s work since 2020 to highlight the institutional segregation and environmental impacts created by the highway and help raise awareness of the historical exclusion of underserved communities in decision-making about their physical space.
The project is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate; Sasaki Associates; KVL Audio Visual Services; Municipal Art Society Enduring Culture Initiative; Big Oh Bijoux; Sasaki; Municipal Art Society Enduring Culture Initiative; Simon’s Hardware; and private donations.
The film was introduced by Julian Morales, Organizing and Advocacy Manager of Fifth Avenue Committee. Following the film, Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of Fifth Avenue Committee, led a panel discussion.
The panel included Lanessa Owens-Chaplin, Racial Justice Center Director, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Maria Fernanda Pulido-Velosa, Educator & Social Justice/EJ Coalition Organizer, El Puente, and Monica Underwood, Co-Founder of Public Housing Civic Association.
About The Story of the BQE
“It’s now been 70 years since the highway was completed and its age is showing. Now is the perfect time to reimagine the BQE and repair the damage it continues to inflict on the community.”
-Segregation by Design (SBD)
The Story of the BQE documentary, produced by the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA) with NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, uses archival footage and photography to show how the construction of the 35-mile-long Brooklyn-Queens Expressway demolished historic neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens, divided communities, and displaced hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers across the two boroughs. The Story of the BQE Film and Oral History project includes a web-based oral history archive comprising interviews with Brooklyn and Queens residents around the impact the highway has on their lives. This project expands IPA’s work since 2020 to highlight the institutional segregation and environmental impacts created by the highway and help raise awareness of the historical exclusion of underserved communities in decision-making about their physical space.
The project is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate; Sasaki Associates; KVL Audio Visual Services; Municipal Art Society Enduring Culture Initiative; Big Oh Bijoux; Sasaki; Municipal Art Society Enduring Culture Initiative; Simon’s Hardware; and private donations.
