Man’s viral song explains how to fix NYC’s ‘3rd Worst Place,’ Exit 31 of the BQE
By Lindsay Tuchman
Click here for updates on this story
NEW YORK (WABC) — A Brooklyn resident is drawing attention to a long-standing traffic bottleneck on the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway with a viral song about Exit 31 at Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg.
Drivers who use the BQE are familiar with congestion at the exit, which often backs up onto the highway because the off-ramp merges with a local road that ends at a traffic signal. The bottleneck can snarl traffic for motorists traveling through the area.
Clinton Hill resident Andrew Rose Gregory recently lampooned the exit in a song, a video that quickly gained attention online.
“It turns out hundreds of thousands of people live in Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights and Fort Greene and downtown Brooklyn and Clinton Hill, and, a lot of people have to drive by this every day. And it has, as you can see, the exit snarls up the whole road. The traffic over here is miserable,” Gregory said.
Gregory is a member of the musical comedy quartet the Gregory Brothers, known for internet hits including the 2010 series “Auto-Tune the News” and “It’s Corn.”
Gregory said the song resonated with viewers because it not only highlighted the problem but also suggested a potential improvement.
“I think people really connected with that emotionally, and I think people were pleasantly surprised that I actually offer that pretty clear and concise, not solution, but improvement in the second half,” Gregory said.
Traffic improvements at the exit were discussed during a community board meeting in 2025. Neighbors were told the state Department of Transportation was planning to separate the off-ramp and adjacent Williamsburg Street West with a physical barrier, widen the exit lane and optimize traffic signals.
According to a project portal, the effort remains in development, with construction expected to be completed in 2028 or 2029. No official start date has been posted.
Some drivers said they are frustrated by the delays and the lack of progress.
“We try to be very patient and wait there and you know, as much as we can, but it would be nice if they would do something,” Ryan Vereen said in Brooklyn.
Eyewitness News contacted the state Department of Transportation for an update on the status of any construction project.
The agency released a statement saying, “The New York State Department of Transportation shares the community’s frustration with frequent backups at Exit 31 (Wythe Avenue) of the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, and we are taking action to fix this traffic headache by progressing a project to enhance safety and improve traffic flow. The project, which is in the final design stage, will reconfigure the exit ramp to two lanes, physically separate traffic approaches at Wythe Avenue, optimize signal timings, and install pedestrian curb extensions to provide improved mobility for vehicles and pedestrians. Final steps in the planning process will be completed over the next year, with construction set to begin in 2028.”
Meanwhile, Gregory said another version of the Exit 31 song is also on the way.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.