The Story of the BQE, to be produced by the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA) in partnership with the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, is an online repository of oral histories of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), a 35-mile-long decaying and divisive piece of urban infrastructure. Through The Story of the BQE, the IPA is partnering with Brooklyn and Queens-based youth organizations all along the BQE corridor to provide opportunities for those impacted by the BQE to preserve memories of their lives, community, and stories of living alongside it.
Partnering organizations will receive special resources, including a short documentary about the BQE by Segregation by Design, and training from facilitators to assist them in incorporating the interview model into their existing programs. StoryCorps veterans Mitra Bonshahi and Adriana Gallardo will facilitate intergenerational 40-minute audio interviews with participants, including students and their parents, grandparents, and/or neighbors. Interviews recorded with The Story of the BQE will be available online and a corridor-wide community listening event will be held at the conclusion of the project to share these stories to a wider audience in New York City and beyond.
The Story of the BQE continues the IPA’s ongoing effort, since 2020, to help raise public awareness of the historical exclusion of disadvantaged communities in decision-making about their physical space and highlight the institutional segregation and environmental impacts created by the highway. The project will facilitate opportunities for communities to express their visions for the future of neighborhoods near the BQE and empower the next generation of civic leaders to have a voice in making decisions about their neighborhood, community district, and city.
︎︎︎ Visit the BQE Website
Partnering organizations will receive special resources, including a short documentary about the BQE by Segregation by Design, and training from facilitators to assist them in incorporating the interview model into their existing programs. StoryCorps veterans Mitra Bonshahi and Adriana Gallardo will facilitate intergenerational 40-minute audio interviews with participants, including students and their parents, grandparents, and/or neighbors. Interviews recorded with The Story of the BQE will be available online and a corridor-wide community listening event will be held at the conclusion of the project to share these stories to a wider audience in New York City and beyond.
The Story of the BQE continues the IPA’s ongoing effort, since 2020, to help raise public awareness of the historical exclusion of disadvantaged communities in decision-making about their physical space and highlight the institutional segregation and environmental impacts created by the highway. The project will facilitate opportunities for communities to express their visions for the future of neighborhoods near the BQE and empower the next generation of civic leaders to have a voice in making decisions about their neighborhood, community district, and city.
︎︎︎ Visit the BQE Website
