A streetcar desired by Bill de Blasio.
The New York City mayor used part of his State of the City speech Thursday night to propose a new streetcar line, which would connect Queens and Brooklyn.
The streetcar route would start in Queens' busy Astoria section and end in Brooklyn's Sunset Park, stretching 16 miles, mostly along the East River.
"We see the Tale of Two Cities transforming into one New York," de Blasio said as part of his speech Thursday night, as reported by Newsday.
In between Astoria and Sunset Park would be stops at popular areas such as Long Island City, Williamsburg and Downtown Brooklyn.
So, what would be the cost behind such a lofty ambition? Well, the New York Times reports that it would be an estimated $2.5 billion, which is actually less than the cost to start a new subway line.
The Times adds that the streetcars would travel at about 12 miles per hour, spelling a commute from Greenpoint and Dumbo in Brooklyn to being an estimated 27 minutes.
Although the Times says that de Blasio wouldn't need the approval of the New York state-operated Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the project would still need to be thoroughly reviewed by the local communities involved with construction not likely to begin before 2019, with service to the public opening up some five-plus years after that.
The streetcar isn't the only way de Blasio wants to improve the Big Apple, either.
Thursday night's speech also had him announce intentions for drivers to pay for their metered parking spaces using their smartphones and also plans to add 2,500 extra Citi Bikes in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
