By John Schilling
If you have had in-person classes at the Brooklyn College campus within the last few days, you may have noticed construction on the East Quad.
With the entire perimeter of the grass completely boarded up and barricaded off, students are limited to the walkways located directly in front of Boylan and Ingersoll Halls that wrap around and meet at both the library and campus entrance on Bedford Avenue. Despite previous speculation, this construction has nothing to do with any damage from Hurricane Ida and was previously planned to fix BC’s underground service tunnels.
“Taking advantage of fewer people on campus, repairs are being made to the underground service tunnels that date back to the college’s opening in the 1930s,” Rich Pietras, the Media Relations Manager for Brooklyn College, told The Vanguard. “Serving as the underground ‘engine’ for the campus, these tunnels house the college’s utilities, including electrical conduits, steam lines, plumbing, and IT.”
“The underground renovations are expected to be completed by the end of this fall semester and are being funded through a New York City grant program reserved for educational campus improvement projects (Resolution-A funding),” added Pietras.