by Jen G 
I’m just going to go out on a limb and say it. I hate cars.
See the above image? It’s my vision for McGuinness Blvd using an online App called StreetMix that I read about in this article on Hyperallergic.
Do you notice there are no cars in my design?
I think cars are stupid, especially in a city like New York, where so many people are crammed together, sharing what we all don’t…
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Gah, McGuinness is truly awful! Although as long as it’s a thoroughfare to the BQE, I think we’re stuck with it. I wonder what it would look like if someone built a large, elevated park/walkway over McG? Or a mall…if you wish. 🙂
I hate elevated because then it’s like under the BQE – dirty and a parking lot. I never want to be under there. What about some kind of tunnel!?!?
As Boston how its Big Dig is going.
*Ask
i bet…
As a life long Greenpointer …. if you don’t like it, you can just LEAVE !!! Nobody is begging you to stay here
Oh, the genius classic “if you don’t like it, leave” response. Such a lame, lazy response.
If all we ever did when something sucks is LEAVE then everything would SUCK. We’d still be in caves telling people to leave if they want stuff like heat, underwear, and a toilet.
People with some guts stick around and try to improve things, even if all their ideas don’t work. At least they TRY. Enough people have died on McGuinness. It’s not about what you like or don’t like and how long you’ve lived in Greenpoint – people have the RIGHT to not get killed crossing the street.
I live on McGuinness Blvd. in a huge 2 bedroom apartment on the cheap. I love my apartment – I really do. Its great in the summertime when I can put my air conditioners in the windows and drown out the heavy traffic noise!
My bedroom faces McGuinness Blvd – so it really took some getting used to. The tire shop at the corner of McGuinness & Meserole are my crowing rooster during the week – jarring me awake from the lug nut removal drill that makes that hideously rapid clacking sound.
I am subscribing to your view of a pedestrian friendly McGuinness Blvd! Just think – if there were no cars – there would be almost no noise pollution – or Pepe’s tire shop – or hit and runs. Oh BTW – I actually watched someone die from a hit and run on McGuinness & Meserole. I hate McGuinness, hate cars, and love Greenpoint. Conundrums!
That does stink that you have to hear all that noise and saw that awful accident. So let’s start a petition to make McGuinness car free so that YOU CAN SLEEP! And so that people can breathe again!
I believe the worst offenders are not the passenger cars but the tractor trailers in transit. They have Ohio plates or Texas plates or Alabama plates.. you name it. Why any l of them have to drive on McGuinness?
They don’t make local deliveries, they are just monsters in transit.
First: If someone, anyone could change McGuinness status from Blvd to Pkwy then there would be no tractor trailers on McGuinnes.
Second: Changing BQE status to Pkwy would mean a cleaner air and almost no traffic for all of NYC.
We have to start somewhere right?
The trucks are really horrible. And technically NO TRUCKS are allowed unless they are making local deliveries, which is not enforced and McGuinness Blvd is used to get from LIE to BQE. When I lived on Kingsland Ave – trucks also used to use that as a short-cut and that is a one way one lane residential street. I had a tough time sleeping there. I like the idea of changing it so no trucks can go on it AT ALL. Regardless there is a lot of speeding in general. Maybe speed bumps and those speeding detectors would be good.
Jen, kudos to you! This article is exactly what I’ve been dreaming about for years. I’m also a Greenpoint resident and love it here. On one side, McGuinness is apart of the Greenpoint “charm” as we know it, but than I think…I’ve witnessed 2 people get hit (by trucks), numerous cars get side-swiped, 50 mile per hour monster vehicles plowing past baby strollers, etc…I don’t need to mention the noise and air pollution. Something needs to change.
The neighborhood is divided in two with that Blvd, and it would be great to make it whole “again” – and have traffic go around residential areas. Restoring McGuinness to the original 2-lane street (ideally no cars, but that’s an unlikely reality as we both agree) it once was would be awesome. I’ve done my research – that’s why the East Side of the street has no older buildings…eminent domain happened in the middle of the last century to widen the street. I’m up for signing a petition or helping get started!
Thanks and very interesting about the eminent domain.
Jen,
This article inspired me to create a proposal for a grant of funding (via the GCEF (Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund) regarding truck re-routing in Greenpoint…specifically around McGuinness between Greenpoint Ave and Meeker. It’s a $20M fund, and crossing fingers that our proposal is accepted for a study. Working with OUTRAGE via St. Nick’s Alliance in Williamsburg who support the proposal immensely. Thanks for this article…has already done some good.
That is awesome to hear Josh. Let’s be in touch on how it all turns out. I would love to learn more and follow-up on your project on Greenpointers. Thanks again!
Absolutely! Thanks Jen!