Editing Queensboro Bridge (section)

==== Landmark status and deterioration ====
During the early 1970s, a small terminal for [[List of express bus routes in New York City|express buses]] was also proposed for the Manhattan end of the bridge, but it was not built.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |date=December 8, 1971 |title=Network of Malls Urged By City for Midtown Area |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/08/archives/network-of-malls-urged-by-city-for-midtown-area.html |access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> On November 23, 1973, the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) designated the Queensboro Bridge as a city landmark, preventing any modifications without the LPC's approval.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 24, 1973 |title=Landmark Status Given To Queensboro Bridge |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/24/archives/landmark-status-given-to-queensboro-bridge.html |access-date=March 29, 2022}}</ref><ref name="n98607720">{{Cite news |date=November 24, 1973 |title=This Bridge to Wear A New Gold Plate |pages=5 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98607720/this-bridge-to-wear-a-new-gold-plate/ |access-date=March 29, 2022}}</ref> It was the second East River bridge to be so designated, after the Brooklyn Bridge.<ref name="n98607720" /> The Board of Estimate delayed ratification of the landmark designation because some space under the bridge's approaches was used for commercial purposes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=February 10, 1974 |title=City Cites Boerum Hill |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/10/archives/city-cites-boerum-hill-boerum-hill-a-landmark.html |access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> The northern lower-level roadway was closed in 1976 while the wires underneath the deck were being replaced.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Arthur |last=Mulligan |date=April 21, 1976 |title=Queensboro Bridge Lane Closing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-queensboro-bridge-lane-closin/139013996/ |access-date=January 18, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |pages=25}}</ref>

By the mid-1970s, as the city government considered an open-air market under the bridge,<ref>See: {{Cite news |last=Kaiser |first=Charles |date=July 8, 1977 |title=Plans for $2 Million Open-Air Market Under Queensboro Bridge Are Approved |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/08/archives/plans-for-2-million-openair-market-under-queensboro-bridge-are.html |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-date=October 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019205041/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/08/archives/plans-for-2-million-openair-market-under-queensboro-bridge-are.html |url-status=live |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=December 23, 1977 |title=Board of Estimate Votes a New Lease For Bridgemarket |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/23/archives/board-of-estimate-votes-a-new-lease-for-bridgemarket.html |access-date=October 12, 2023 |archive-date=October 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019200357/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/23/archives/board-of-estimate-votes-a-new-lease-for-bridgemarket.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n133319392">{{Cite news |last=Geline |first=Robert |date=July 14, 1977 |title=Warn Queensboro Bridge May Be Like the London |pages=18 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-warn-queensboro-bridge-may-be/133319392/ |access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> a city engineer described the bridge as severely deteriorated.<ref name="n133319392" /><ref name="p923100586">{{cite news |last=Treen |first=Joseph M. |date=February 27, 1978 |title=Queensborough Bridge: Safe, But Awfully Seedy: Queensborough Bridge Decaying |page=1 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|923100586}}}}</ref> Among the issues cited were extensive rusting, faulty [[expansion joint]]s, clogged drains, potholes, and dirt.<ref name="p923100586" /> [[New York State Department of Transportation]] (NYSDOT) engineering director George Zaimes described the bridge's frame as being rusty, with some holes that were as large as a person's head. According to Zaimes, the upper roadway was only attached to the bridge "by its own weight and memory".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Larkin |first=Kathy |date=November 16, 1982 |title=Bridge Masters |pages=194 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-bridge-masters/133325412/ |access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref>