CUBE Director John Rudikoff ’06 Named to Brooklyn-Queens Connector Board

John Rudikoff ’06, CEO and managing director of the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship at Brooklyn Law School, has been named to the board of directors of Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector, a non-profit group working to develop a new streetcar system connecting the two boroughs.

The BQX streetcar project would cover about 16 miles of the Brooklyn-Queens waterfront from Sunset Park to Astoria. The New York City Department of Transportation and the Economic Development Corporation recently collaborated on a report outlining potential routes for the BQX, which could run near the Law School on Court Street or Atlantic Avenue.

“I’m excited to be part of this project that has the potential to transform the future of Brooklyn,” said Rudikoff. “The BQX will further drive new development and industrial centers, where we can already see tremendous growth and where many of the clients that CUBE supports and works with are located.”

“Whatever affects our neighborhood in Brooklyn also has an impact on the future of the Law School,” said Dean Nick Allard. “I am pleased that John Rudikoff will represent the interests of the Law School as the planning and development of this new transportation spine in the borough goes forward.”

Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector say the BQX will open new opportunities for business as well as offer better access to transportation for many local residents—there are 13 public housing complexes along the proposed transit line that currently have limited access to buses and subways. In addition to Brooklyn Law School, community institutions involved in the project include the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, the Queens Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Industry City, and five New York City Housing Authority resident association presidents. NBA all-star Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks recently joined the BQX board. The project also has the support of the de Blasio Administration.

Read more about the project here.