Tag: pedestrians

Outraged Prospect Heights residents are demanding to know why City Hall has thrown a curve at the long-debated Underhill Avenue redesign in Brooklyn and are demanding the project move forward without delay.

Mayor Adams stunned proponents of the project — which would permanently install bikes lanes and traffic-slowing measures on the residential street — when he said last week that more community input was needed. The city Department of Transportation has conducted multiple meetings on the plan, with a 2021 survey showing overwhelming support for additional pedestrian and bike-friendly corridors.

But Adams said he wanted his team to go “door-to-door” asking residents’ thoughts on the plan — because he believes “long term residents” still haven’t been given input.

“I want a very healthy, hefty community engagement,” Adams said last week. “And to some, they believe community engagement is slowing up the process. I don’t. Residents of a community should have input in how their streets are going to be changed. When you change a street, you are changing the fabric of a community.”

Angry residents and advocates counter the community has had extensive input on the project and that it has strong support. They’re worried that the Mayor’s push for another round of review may threaten the project on Underhill Ave, which is already near completion, and that it may join a potentially growing list of street redesign projects that have been scaled down by the city under the Adams administration.

“I’m not really sure why he’s questioning the community outreach, or the sentiment among residents. It seems to be pretty clear,” said Gib Veconi, chair of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, or PHNDC.

The Department of Transportation’s community outreach included seven workshops, several community board presentations, plus various town halls, surveys, stakeholder meetings and outreach events, according to DOT materials. A 2021 survey of nearby residents obtained by the News found that 86% of respondents wanted a permanent street redesign for Underhill and Vanderbilt Avenue a block over, which is slated to be turned into an open street.

The PHNDC started a petition last month in response to the delay. It’s collected over 2,800 signatures to date. And last week, they sent a letter to the Mayor asking him to resume work on the project.

“Having community members comment on a new street design before it has been completed is
not a meaningful exercise, and delaying the completion of the work puts users of the
street at risk,” the letter reads. “In short, we ask that you just let DOT finish the job. Any further delay makes no sense and is irresponsible.”

The bike boulevard on Underhill Avenue, a mostly residential street in Prospect Heights, has already undergone most of the changes for the project. The redesign is aimed at slowing car traffic by making some sections one-way and placing traffic diverters and planters on the street.

A spokesperson for the mayor pushed back against the idea that the project has been delayed.

“There is no change to the plan for Underhill,” the spokesperson said. “… We are kicking off door-to-door outreach to hear from the community about the project.”

Advocates and residents fear the city’s handling of Underhill Avenue will continue a pattern of projects — including McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn and Fordham Road in the Bronx — that have been scaled back by the city.

“I can tell you firsthand that a significant majority of Underhill residents support the project,” Assembly member Robert Carroll wrote in a statement. “I understand the need for any street redesign to be perfected, but at this point the path is clear — the Underhill Bike Boulevard must go forward.”

All of this is happening on a complicated backdrop of debate over how best to use shared spaces across the city. Post-COVID, bikes have become more popular as car spaces have become even more coveted, and delivery workers and e-bikes have exploded in use, crowding streets and even endangering pedestrians and fellow bikers more than ever.

The redesign of Underhill Ave is part of a citywide effort to make permanent elements of open streets that were converted during the pandemic. This street was previously an open street.

“Mayor Adams is facing a crisis on the streets, including one of the worst years for cyclists in history,” said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives. “… We shouldn’t be rolling back projects and giving more space to cars.”

Department of Transportation spokeswoman Mona Bruno referred the Daily News to a City Hall spokesman when asked Thursday why additional outreach was needed given the 2021 survey. The spokesman, Charles Lutvak, in turn, referred The News back to the mayor’s Tuesday remarks.

All of this has sparked confusion among those who live and work along the street.

“I think they finished the construction already, right? I haven’t seen those guys in a while,” said Mohammed Asla, 53, who works at a deli on Underhill and St. John’s Place, adding that, “personally, I like the changes.”

Randi Lee, owner of Leland, a Mediterranean restaurant along the avenue, saw the changes on the street start and then stop outside his restaurant — but is still puzzled as to why the city seems to be, at least temporarily, pumping the brakes.

“This is a small street, it’s not like Myrtle or Dekalb. It seems kind of like pocket change,” Lee said, wondering why the project has been thrown to more community outreach.

There’s been the usual hubbub around the street changes, Lee and others said. Changing the status quo of a street remains tough to do in New York City. But many were happy to see the street lines repainted and planters set down on the street, slowing down car traffic.

“All it takes is one big voice to halt what’s happening,” Lee said, “And that seems to be the case here.”

— With Chris Sommerfeldt