Urban highways were a mistake to build in the 1950s, and are a mistake to rebuild today
About Off-Ramp NYC
What we believe
Highways belong to history, not our neighborhoods. We reject the circular logic that justifies rebuilding invasive Robert Moses highways. Rebuilding them would lock the city into more generations of economic liability, car dependence, pollution, and fractured communities.
Who We Are
Off-Ramp NYC is an interdisciplinary group of NYC residents, urban planners, and advocates calling for the teardown and removal of New York’s urban highways, starting with the most urgent case: The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Our Mission
We are working to decommission the BQE and convert its corridor into a tree‑lined boulevard, transit (light rail / BRT), protected bike and micro mobility lanes, affordable housing, and green space — saving tens of billions while reconnecting and revitalizing neighborhoods for generations to come.
Our Founders
Sydney Upchurch
Sydney is an urban planner and operator who has spent the last 10 years advancing inclusive, livable cities through technology, applied research, and civic organizing. She was Chief Operating Officer of inCitu, an augmented reality platform designed to make complex urban projects more intuitive, accessible, and transparent for communities. She co-founded urban mobility startup, Fleet, which shifted commuters from driving alone toward more sustainable, shared, and active modes via employer provided commuter benefits. Sydney also managed a joint initiative of the Ford Foundation and American University to conduct neighborhood-scale analysis of urban systems, including housing, services, and transport, across Cairo, Egypt.
She has a master’s in urban planning from Harvard GSD. Sydney sees the expiration of mid-century urban highways as a rare chance to reclaim public health and neighborhood wellbeing lost to decades of car-centric planning. Sydney lives in Gowanus with her husband and two young daughters, where the BQE is visible from every window.
Cindy McLaughlin
Cindy McLaughlin is a Brooklyn-based leader with decades of experience across urban systems, zoning, transportation, and sustainability. She is Chief Development Officer at CarbonBuilt and was previously Founding CEO of Envelope, a zoning-analytics startup, (acquired).
Cindy volunteers on the board of Governors of the Brooklyn Heights Association where she chairs the Public Realm Committee and is a member of the BQE Committee; at One Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she’s a member of the BQE Committee; and at the Urban Land Institute, where she co-Chairs the Climate and Sustainability Council.
With an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management, she brings deep public realm and strategic planning expertise to Off-Ramp's case for replacing the BQE with transit; reconnected, mixed-use neighborhoods; and community-powered public space. Cindy grew up on a tree farm in Massachusetts and lives with her husband, two boys, dog, and a tank full of snails in an apartment abutting the BQE.
