a tunnel between Brooklyn and the battery in lower Manhattan was one of several traffic
relief projects in the late 1930s to remedy vehicle congestion on New York
City's existing thoroughfares extending just over 9000 feet this tunnel is the
longest continuous underwater vehicle tunnel in North America upon its construction it had
been featured in popular movies served an essential purpose in one of New York City's
darkest days and was even the cause of some destruction needless to say this New York City
Tunnel has been part of many historic moments today we discover the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
throughout history I'm your host Ryan silkash and you're watching its history
we have covered nearly all of New York's significant tunnels and are considering moving
on to episodes about European infrastructure much of which was built for military purposes
in doing my research I came across the secrets of the maginal line a documentary on Magellan
TV and let me tell you this is a must-see for anyone who loves tunnels you see this line of
fortifications covers a vast amount of land and is often connected via a network of tunnels featuring
a Narrow Gauge Railway this extraordinary film taught me not only What affected the Marvel had
on the progression of history but also just how complex the underground engineering was basically
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proposals for a Crossing between the Battery Park and Lower Manhattan and the Red Hook section of
Brooklyn had been around since 1929. at that time city planners noted that the williamsburg's
Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges carried 150 000 vehicles per day and projected that this number
would double in the years ahead so a solution was eminent originally envisioned as a three-tube
six-lane tunnel the proposed tunnel which also had the support of Mayor LaGuardia was approved
by the New York City Board of estimate in November of 1930 funds however were low with the Queen's
Midtown Tunnel still under construction basically the Public Works Authority and the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation could not Finance the project sufficiently hence mayor LaGuardia reluctantly
asked Robert Moses the chairman of the triboral bridge Authority for the funds Moses said he could
Supply more than 30 million dollars but only at the price of taking over the tunnel of Authority
which was in charge of the Queen's Midtown Tunnel and the Battery Tunnel with Moses now
in control of the battery Crossing he changed the original plan from a six-lane tunnel crossing to
a six-lane Bridge Crossing this change reflected the values of the bankers that would Finance such
a project that a bridge would be built for less money cost slightly less to operate and
carry more traffic moreover this change reflected his philosophy his eagerness to build impressive
monuments for all to see according to an aid Moses regarded a tunnel as quote but a hole in
the ground surprisingly unlike many of Moses's previous projects the Brooklyn Battery Bridge
proposal fomented opposition from New York City's business and political establishments as well as
the influential Regional plan Association in the end it took the intervention of President Franklin
D Roosevelt to stop the Brooklyn Battery Bridge Project for moving forward a tunnel was a better
option and hence was finally approved however Robert Moses had hoarded the idea of a tunnel
even though a bridge would drastically reduce the size of Battery Park destroying even more areas
than the neighborhoods the tunnel would already demolish Moses was adamant that a bridge was the
only option still the general public thought it would be an eyesore on the Manhattan skyline most
were displeased with the idea of devoting such a large area of Manhattan to a bridge entrance
instead of a livable walkable area despite this Moses refused to budge until the president stepped
in and told him that a tunnel was the only option so Moses begrudgingly gave in although he demanded
that the walls be changed to fit his preferred quote safer finishing and so it was the Brooklyn
Battery Bridge proposal was killed officially on July the 17th 1939 when the Secretary of War under
the Roosevelt administration said the proposed Crossing would be c word of Brooklyn Navy Yard
according to the war department the proposed Bridge would have not only been vulnerable to
attack in the event of a war but also blocked access to the Naval Yard however it could be
argued that this was a ludicrous objection since the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges were Downstream
of the Navy Yard in the end perhaps this decision stemmed from The long-standing Grudge between
Moses and Roosevelts under the direction of Ole stingstad of the New York City Tunnel Authority
construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel commenced in October of 1940. initially scheduled
for completion in 1943 work on the tunnel was halted due to World War II induced steel and
iron shortages when construction resumed in late 1945 Moses and the newly combined tri-borough
bridge and tunnel Authority would be charged with finishing the tunnel which was made possible with
more than one million pounds of dynamite used to bore through the Rocks beneath New York Harbor
about 13 900 tons of steel 205 cubic yards of concrete 1871 miles of electrical wire 883 391
volts and 799 000 wall and ceiling tiles went into the structure in addition about 93 600
tons of cast iron were used to line the tunnel ventilation was provided by 53 fans operated by
104 Motors that released 6 million 152 000 cubic feet of fresh air into the tunnel the
grand opening occurred on May the 25th 1950 at a staggering 90 million dollars President Roosevelt
himself attended the tunnel's groundbreaking ceremony the 9117 foot long tunnel became the
world's longest continuous underwater vehicle tunnel and was a success from the beginning
carrying approximate nearly 41 000 vehicles per day during its first full year of operation in
1951. by 1965 revenues from the Brooklyn Battery and Queens midtown tunnels projects both initially
opposed by Moses generated nearly one-third of his Department's Revenue at the Manhattan approach
Moses constructed the battery parking garage which continues to be operated by MTA Bridges and
tunnels the successor of the tri-borough bridge and tunnel Authority ironically Moses continued to
gripe about the tunnels being built instead of a bridge decades later in his memories these tunnels
did come at a cultural cost unfortunately the construction of the tunnels meant the destruction
of little Syria starting in the 1880s people from the Middle East began arriving at New York's
immigrant processing station more specifically these were immigrants from greater Syria which
at the time was a part of the Ottoman Empire the syrians of old New York were mostly Christians who
brought their Trey trade culture and Cuisine to the streets of lower Manhattan many also
headed over to Atlantic avenue in Brooklyn as well creating another district for Middle
Eastern American culture which would Outlast the older Manhattan area specifically before the
construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel the place that its Manhattan entrance now occupies was
the neighborhood called little Syria that title might have been a little inaccurate as immigrants
from over 27 countries called the area home though they were diverse these inhabitants shared
one thing in common the Arabic language when the city decided to construct the tunnel they invoked
eminent domain and forced residents to relocate with just several days notice the neighborhood was
raised and now only a few remnants remain like the Saint George Syrian malachite Catholic church but
that's not the end of the story here as another neighborhood was also affected the neighborhood of
Red Hook the neighborhood of Red Hook was named by the Dutch for its red oil and became a key
port during the 19th century a stopping point for vessels carrying vast raw goods from the
interior of the United States along the Erie Canal when construction began on the Brooklyn Battery
Tunnel the neighborhood of Red Hook was already facing severe economic difficulties you see the
area's primary industry that of manual labor unloading and processing cargo had increasingly
become facilitated by machines reducing the need for physical bodies drastically the industry had
also primarily been moved to larger plants in New Jersey that could afford the new equipment so with
the tunnels construction Red Hook became further isolated from the rest of the borough leading
to a drastic rise in economic strife and crime the neighborhood quickly became a mafia hotbed
and the shadow of this criminal Empire has long haunted the area's reputation however in recent
years with the increase of tech entrepreneurs manufacturing comp companies and the public
transit options like the New York City Ferry this neighborhood has been able to get back on its
feet according to the New York State Department of Transportation the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
carries approximately sixty thousand vehicles per day between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn
the Federal Highway Administration logs show that the tunnel has an unmarked designation Interstate
478 the i-478 assignment was to be given to the Westway project a 4.2 mile superhighway planned
along the route of the current West Side Highway when the project was canceled in 1985 the i-478
designation was shortened to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and its approaches making i-478 a Spur from
i-278 beginning in the late 1990s after nearly a half century of service the tunnel received
the first significant rehabilitation in its history including a 100 million dollar effort to
install a new ceiling and new lighting an effort conducted by MTA Bridges and tunnels in 2001
the battery parking garage also received a 44 million dollar makeover additionally in 2002 MTA
Bridges and tunnels completed a 55 million dollar project to rehab the tunnel superstructure roadway
and drainage system this project addressed the deterioration of the roadway slab in both tubes
of the tunnel tunnel leak repairs and wall tile replacement was also performed and importantly
that year the agency completed a 10 million dollar rehab of the vent buildings the final part of the
project completed in 2003 involved a 35 million dollar installation of new pumps exhaust fans fire
standpipe water line valves variable message signs and control and Signal systems during the 911
attacks the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel provided an essential service by allowing the fire department
to receive help from their Brooklyn divisions one Fearless firefighter strapped all his gear to his
body and ran off making it from Brooklyn to the World Trade Center via the tunnel the Dynamics
of this tunnel changed as well for more than one month after September 11 2001 the Brooklyn Battery
Tunnel was closed to all traffic except emergency vehicles when the tunnel reopened MTA Bridges
and tunnels and the New York City Department of Transportation imposed new restrictions as a part
of a larger scale effort to reduce congestion in Manhattan below 63rd Street for nearly six
months after that inbound traffic was restricted to buses during rush hours with the closure of the
West Side Highway through Lower Manhattan also the tunnel's ventilation system was completely
upgraded and now the ventilation Chambers in Manhattan Brooklyn and Governors Island are so
powerful that they can entirely replenish the tunnel with fresh air every 90 seconds even
so these upgrades were no competition for the challenges ahead the tunnel was closed before
hurricane Sandy arrived in the fall of 2012. during the storm surge it was completely flooded
the situation was so dire that some 86 million gallons of water had to be pumped out before it
could be reopened nearly two weeks after the storm in the days leading up to the hurricane New York
decided on the side of caution and closed down the tunnel it was a good thing they did when the
storm reached the city it completely battered the tunnel filling it with gallons of dark murky water
it took two weeks for the water to be pumped out astonishingly the city reworked the ventilation
Chambers to circulate the water up and out of the tunnel despite the incredible amount they were
able to bring almost 10 000 gallons out every minute so the city reopened the connection two
weeks later without a hitch 2012 would go on to be an interesting year for the tunnel altogether as
in that year it was formally renamed While most people still call the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
by its original name it was recently renamed to the ql carry tunnel to honor the 51st governor
of New York in a ceremony on October the 22nd 2012. the above ceremony was attended with much
fanfare including guests such as New York State lieutenant governor Robert J Duffy Mayor Bloomberg
former Governor Cuomo MTA chairman and members of the Kerry family as with many structures in
the city though the original name tends to stick so while driving in New York you should be on the
lookout for signs towards the Hugh L carry tunnel but most often New Yorkers still refer to it as
the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel so how does the tunnel make its money well there are tolls to enter as of
April 11 2021 drivers pay 10.17 per car or 4.28 cents per motorcycle for Tolls by mail easy pass
users with transfer bonders issued by the New York EZ Pass customer service center pay 6.55 cents per
car or two dollars and 85 cents per motorcycle open road cashless Towing started on January the
4th 2017. the toll booths were dismantled and drivers could no longer pay cash at the tunnel
instead cameras and Easy Pass readers are mounted on New overhangs on the Manhattan side a vehicle
without EZ Pass has a picture taken of his license plate and a bill for the toll is mailed out to the
car's owner lastly in 1997 the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel made its on-screen debut in the film Men
In Black starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones the quote Ellis Island of Intergalactic
alien immigration is housed in one of the four ventilation buildings that constantly pump and
redistribute air throughout the tunnel you may remember Will Smith walking into a building with
huge fans on his way down to the headquarters those fans had a purpose Beyond looking cool
cool they make sure you do not suffocate when commuting from Brooklyn the empire state is well
known for its many engineering Marvels and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel is one of them connecting
Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood with Battery Park in Manhattan flowing underneath the East River it
brings over 20 million Vehicles across each year and is a truly magnificent Modern Marvel so thanks
for watching everyone don't forget to subscribe to catch our new videos every Thursday and Saturday
and definitely check out our tunnel playlist until next time this is Ryan silkash signing off