Planned Kosciusko Bridge implosion prompts air quality worry

After several years of construction to build a new and improved Kosciusko Bridge, the end is in sight, but not in the way some local Brooklyn leaders would like it to be. 

"Expeditious actions should never trump public safety and health quality. That should never happen," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said. "If we have to take an extra 3 or 4 months to get it right, to do it right, to continue to ensure the air quality is right, then let's take the time to make sure."

At a press conference in Greenpoint, Adams and environmental advocates condemned Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the state's plan to get rid of the old bridge by imploding it, once the new bridge, which is right next to it, is completed. Adams said an implosion could worsen the neighborhood's air quality. 

"Implosion is the safest and the most efficient plan so any theatrics or grandstanding from community leaders is not only unnecessary but entirely misleading," a spokesperson for the governor said. 

A state official said the new bridge will be open to drivers in the spring. The implosion will happen in the summer.