Propel New York officials present 90‑mile underground transmission plan to Community Board 11; board asked for support letter

Representatives for Propel New York — a public‑private partnership led by the New York Power Authority, New York Transco and engineering firm WSP — gave a detailed presentation to the Community Board 11 Housing, Land Use and Sanitation Committee on Oct. 21 about a proposed 90‑mile underground and submarine electric transmission project that would run through parts of Westchester, Long Island, Queens and a roughly four‑mile stretch through the Bronx.

Why it matters: Project backers said the line would create new capacity to move electricity into and through downstate New York, relieve bottlenecks on the grid and support increasing electricity demand and clean energy integration. Board members and residents focused questions on routing through Bronx neighborhoods, potential construction impacts and the formal permitting timeline.

Jose Rodriguez of Bolt St. John, who described his firm as public‑relations and government‑relations consultants for the project, introduced the three partners and the scope of the project. Philip Ellison, legislative and stakeholder affairs at the New York Power Authority (NYPA), said the partnership combines NYPA’s public power experience with New York Transco’s transmission operations and WSP’s engineering capacity. Ellison called the proposal an "underground electric transmission project" and said it is being advanced through the New York State Article VII permitting process.

Presenters said the project would install six new 345‑kilovolt circuits and one new 138‑kilovolt circuit on a roughly 90‑mile corridor. Jamal Wilkerson of New York Transco described the lines as bidirectional — able to move energy into The Bronx when local demand spikes or into Long Island and Westchester when needed. The team said it is currently evaluating routing alternatives and that the Bronx portion is preliminary; neighborhoods named in the presentation included Castle Hill, Unionport, Morris Park, Parkchester, Holland Parkway, Van Nest (Venice in the presentation) and Westchester Square.

On construction, presenters described a mix of open trenching and trenchless techniques. They said typical trench work would progress 50 to 150 feet per day, with a trench roughly 5 to 6 feet wide, a minimum cover of about 3 feet and cable assemblies the presenters described as several meters in diameter. For sensitive areas the team said it would use horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to limit surface disturbance; they also described submarine cable work where the route crosses water.

Permitting and schedule: The presenters said the project is being advanced through the Article VII process (the state permitting track for major transmission projects). The team referenced a formal application record filed under Case No. 24‑T‑0446 and said the Article VII review typically takes about two years; they listed procedural steps including application submission, public hearings, environmental management and construction plans, and a certificate issued by the Public Service Commission (PSC). The presenters said they expect construction to start in 2026 and to bring the project into service by May 2030, while noting routing and permitting are not final.

Outreach and public input: The project team described a broad outreach effort: more than 2,500 stakeholder touchpoints, more than 1,000 written support letters, direct mail to businesses, a toll‑free inquiry line, a project website and an app with project fact sheets and "myth‑busting" materials. They also said they had heard feedback from agencies including the New York City Parks Department and the MTA and were using that feedback to refine routing alternatives to reduce impacts to Ferry Point Park and other sensitive locations.

Public questions and board response: Residents and board members asked whether the project primarily serves Long Island or New York City (presenters said the bidirectional design serves both), which areas of the Bronx would be affected (selected neighborhoods along the route), and whether community boards across the Bronx would be engaged (presenters said they are meeting boards along the route). A resident who identified herself as Kaye thanked the presenters for the briefing and said the project responded to concerns about increased local power use.

Request for letters and vote attempt: Project staff said they would welcome a letter of support from Community Board 11 to include with their Article VII filing and indicated a letter submitted within the month would be helpful. A motion to provide a letter of support was raised during the committee meeting and briefly seconded. Board member Robert Press objected on procedural grounds, noting that the item sits on a joint agenda of three committees and that a quorum of the joint committee had not been established; following that objection the committee tabled any decision on a formal letter.

Next steps: Project staff said they will continue community outreach and return to the board and other local bodies as routing and the Article VII process proceed. They also advised that the public record for the application (Case No. 24‑T‑0446) is available online for review.

Sources and attributions: Statements in this article are attributed to presenters who spoke at the Oct. 21 Community Board 11 meeting, including Jose Rodriguez (Bolt St. John), Philip Ellison (New York Power Authority) and Jamal Wilkerson (New York Transco), and to Community Board 11 members and residents who spoke during the Q&A.