One Brooklyn
BROOKLYN, NY, August 28, 2018: On Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams joined local elected officials and former New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (NYU Wagner) students at Thomas J. Cuite Park in Windsor Terrace — an open space overlooking the Prospect Expressway — to announce the results of PX Forward, a year-long study by students from NYU Wagner’s Capstone program to reimagine the transit corridor in an effort to repair the mistakes of Robert Moses-era planning. They publicly released a joint letter sent last month to the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), signed by Borough President Adams, State Senator Kevin Parker, Assembly Member Robert Carroll, Council Member Brad Lander, Brooklyn Community Board 6 (CB 6) Chair Sayar Lonial, and CB 7 Chair Cesar Zuniga, that called on the State to consider the recommendations of PX Forward, which detailed proposed reforms for implementing greater community connectivity, increased green space, as well as cyclist and pedestrian safety improvements along the Prospect Expressway. Additionally, they asked NYSDOT to issue a design competition to build off its vision, similar to competitions such as the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Smart City Challenge, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s Genius Challenge, or Transportation Alternatives’ L-ternate Visions Challenge to reimagine Manhattan’s 14th Street during the L train shutdown. Borough President Adams noted the importance of community input in reimagining a future for the corridor that is greener, more sustainable, and positive for the surrounding neighborhoods.
“Every big idea starts from a kernel of truth and that is why we’re calling on the New York State Department of Transportation to build off of this plan by commissioning a design competition to truly reimagine the corridor,” said Borough President Adams. “These are initial ideas generated from extensive community outreach but must be continued to be studied, refined, and further explored. Our students have set the foundation for this conversation and we need our State and City agencies to build on it.”
Following an extensive community engagement and mapping process, in which the members of the NYU Wagner Capstone team convened an array of local stakeholders — including community members, elected officials, government agencies, community-based organizations, and various institutions along the corridor — the group mapped out several core recommendations at a neighborhood-scale to improve the area. Proposals in PX Forward, which can be accessed online at brooklyn-usa.org, included activating underutilized streets and “dead zones” adjacent to the highway, such as 19th Street and McDonald Avenue, through public art and an improved streetscape; increasing transportation options in the neighborhood by introducing bike share and potentially modifying express bus routes to include a stop in Windsor Terrace; improving enforcement and routing of trucks through increased traffic enforcement; enhancing pedestrian experiences through street safety improvements; strengthening small parks and green spaces that line the expressway by studying vacant land along the corridor for possible conversion to parks or other public spaces, as well as along the expressway corridor, by improving the experience on pedestrian bridges through plantings, public art, or streetscaping; leveraging the end of life improvements of bridges to improve transportation options for non-motorized modes of transit by converting the Fort Hamilton bike lane to two-way; studying the condition, safety, and usability of the on/off ramps, and considering new uses for the shoulder space in the highway trench by championing the development of a “Prospect Path,” a cantilevered linear park running along the length of the expressway. Borough President Adams also called for a study of the feasibility of converting the highway into a multi-modal boulevard as well as constructing decking over all or part of the highway trench to add open space or add developable land.
“The purpose and spirit of PX Forward was to take a careful look at a Robert Moses-era highway that had not been reexamined in recent years, and to imagine a future in which the infrastructure in place could better serve community needs,” said the members of the NYU Wagner Capstone team. “We are thrilled to be a part of the report’s public release, and we look forward to future conversations and efforts to bring the report’s recommendations to fruition.”
Prior to 1953, the communities of South Slope and Windsor Terrace were a compact and connected neighborhood of low-density housing. Following the construction of the Prospect Expressway, more than 400 standing structures had to be destroyed resulting in the uprooting of more than 1,200 families. The expressway created both a physical and psychological barrier that has impacted generations of residents living in the area. Today, the roadway bifurcates the communities of South Slope and Windsor Terrace and impacts the quality of life of nearly 45,000 residents in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as approximately 85,000 motorists who use it daily.
