Brooklyn Artists Transform BQE Underpass

As the city weighs how to repair the crumbling Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, the Atlantic Avenue underpass beneath the highway has, in the meantime, been transformed into a work of art highlighting the damage caused by its construction nearly 80 years ago.

About 1.5 miles of the BQE Atlantic Avenue underpass has some new paint on its walls, where seven artists from nonprofit Thrive Collective were chosen to paint the north and south walls between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street.

Each artist used their own style, but stuck with the theme of what Brooklyn was like before the BQE was constructed. The murals showcase a range of topics, from maritime labor and immigrant stories to protest and preservation. 

“I want people to come visit here or if they happen to be walking by that they see themselves represented in this art because Atlantic Avenue is for everyone,” said Kelly Carroll, the executive director of Atlantic Avenue BID.

Jeremy Del Rio, a co-founder of Thrive Collective, said it was important to reclaim that space “in a way that not only made people feel safe, but also celebrate with the community.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the murals that were originally on the walls were struck with graffiti when “everybody was a little stir crazy,” Del Rio said.

To curate the project was no easy task, as the Atlantic Avenue BID historic district business boundary lay outside of the underpass, which meant that Carroll could not use money from BID’s budget to beautify the area.

That said, Carroll was able to attain grants from the New York City Department of Small Businesses Services.

“Once we had the dollars in place the vision to finally beautify this fix this space became real,” she said.

After a round of community meetings with area residents and the artists, a plan was formed for the murals.

Christian Penn, an operations director for Thrive who became the curator for the project, said he helped design and paint the background.

“I painted the whole teal graffiti-style,” he said.

Marissa Molina, the creative art director at Thrive, was in charge of painting the whole north wall, which features various people from the neighborhood in action, including images of a person laughing, women doing yoga, and a female with flashy acrylic nails.

Jodi Dareal, one of the five artists who worked on the south wall, said she was tasked with a theme of heritage, culture and the history of Atlantic Avenue.

“When I received that, I was very excited to be able to bring these stories to life and show the diversity not only in the people and in the immigrants that have come to Brooklyn but also the food they have brought as well, and the different restaurants that are on that strip,” she said.

Carroll said her goal was to showcase how an entire neighborhood was lost due to the construction of the BQE.

“We still have living and breathing businesses affected by this,” she said. “That’s why the content of the murals explores that history and the themes of reconnection and celebrating the community that we still have here.”

There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony under the BQE between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street on Friday, July 11 at 3:00pm.