Brooklyn’s Community Board 1 meetings don’t always stir up such strong emotions as were on display on June 30. When it comes to transportation issues, folks in the neighborhood seem sharply divided between car-owners clamoring for more parking and the biking/walking faction, often castigated as transient hipsters.
After the tragic hit-and-run accident that killed beloved teacher Matthew Jensen, the de Blasio administration allocated $39 million to make improvements to McGuinness Boulevard. The City’s Department of Transportation was on deck at CB1’s Transportation committee meeting to present their findings and offer up three possible visions for the future of the thoroughfare.
A DOT representative quickly pointed out that this particular presentation only pertained to the design of the in-house project, which can be completed faster and with fewer materials, as opposed to capital projects, which are more intensive and can take years to complete. The $39 million from the de Blasio administration goes toward the capital project.
After sifting through hundreds of community comments, the DOT found that the most frequent issues with McGuinness included the need for walking and biking improvements, aggressive driving, and problems with loading zones.
While McGuinness functions as a truck route due to its size and location, the DOT pointed out that most of the vehicles that use the boulevard are actually personal vehicles.
Councilmember Lincoln Restler expressed his disappointment in the presentation. “There was really strong consensus, certainly from Emily [Gallagher] and I and other elected offices, that maintaining two lanes of traffic for all waking hours in both directions does not address the significant safety issues that have plagued McGuinness Boulevard for far too long,” Restler said during the meeting, also calling option A “inadequate.”
Public commentary on the project lasted for about an hour and a half. It’s beyond the scope of this article to give you a play-by-play, but I encourage you to check it out for yourself here.
Lastly, on a personal note, from someone who watches these meetings for a living, let’s all learn to use that mute button, yeah? It’s 2022. We’ve been at this for two years. I’m tired.
McGuinness doesn’t need less lanes, but more, also a bike lane is dangerous!!
Because all they care about is bikes and bike lanes most of these people with these bikes don’t have cars but yeah but yeah the taxpayers have to pay for these bike lanes if they wanna have more bikes on the road and more bike lanes than they should make it a law that bicycle is also need insurance because I work outside all day and I see Citi bike people scooters electric scooters and regular bicycle is run stop signs Go in and out of traffic one red lights but nobody says anything about that nothing is done about that but yeah when they run across the street walking and get hit by a car and something happens right away its the cars fault ! I’m sorry But having all these bike lanes put up and having lanes taken away from Aquinas Boulevard which is a truck traffic Boulevard is ridiculous ridiculous during Covid nobody was complaining about the truck stand when they were bringing in all the produce and the necessities we needed there was no complaints then now all of a sudden people are complaining listen you want to ride a bike go to the park New York City was not made for bicycles All you people that came here from different states if you want to ride a bike go back to your country go to the country and ride a bike down the road New York City is not a place to be riding bikes in and out of traffic this is ridiculous I lived in Green point 53 years we never had all these problems at all the spikes came here now everybody wants to change the streets move this move that if you don’t like the wiggly point is they get the F out nobody invited you here we just sent you an invitation to come live here if you don’t like the way it is then get out
Have fun on the B62 in the morning. And I guess Freeman Street will get a lot louder now with more trucks. What a nightmare.
PS…The bike/car thing isn’t the real issue. It’s the trucks that bring everything you need to live here—good luck crippling their route into GP. No bueno!
You are soooo right! We are living here so long and KNOW and these idiots move in and want to change everything and are ALWAYS WRONG..GO BK TO THE MIDWEST WHERE IS DOESNT MATTER
Turning a major artery like McGuinness Blvd is very dangerous and will effect the businesses greatly. If you want safety then build a few bridges for people to cross it. The traffic is ridiculous as it is. Encouraging more bike riders who do not wear helmets or follow laws is the real reason so many of them are being killed. Bikers should be taken off main roads and truck routes. Emergency vehicles will have an even harder time getting through streets.
Are you serious with this shit?
Oh you’re absolutely right I forgot that in my previous comment none of them wear helmets none of them and the reason why they get hit and killed is because they don’t pay attention OK they are supposed to obey the rules of the law as people who own cars and people who I can drive trucks this is ridiculous I’m gonna stop going to these meetings and voicing my opinion I work outside like I said all day long Can I see how these Electric scooter drivers bicyclist drive In and out of traffic running to the stop signs running to red light tapping on the cars to stop for them when they do when they’re not obeying the traffic in awash people see and people get killed because they don’t pay attention not because they’re crossing at a green light it’s because they run in the street taken that they could beat the car or the truck remember a truck cannot stop on impact like a car can Wake up people wake up
Listen, McGinnis boulevard is a key link between the Long Island expressway and the BQE and needs to stay as it is. There is a bike lane on the Pulaski bridge that goes at the bottom up one block to Manhattan avenue where there is another existing bike lane to be used. Then at Greenpoint avenue the bike lane turns down one block to Leonard Street which is only two blocks up from the Guinness boulevard and has been existing for years. Stop with new bike Lanes as the bicyclists don’t use the existing ones in Greenpoint Emma which run parallel to McGinnis boulevard and is only two short blocks up. The amount of traffic and pollution that this would create by reducing the size of beginners boulevard is unnecessary and is it danger to fire engines trying to get through McGinnis boulevard in case of emergency or alternate route for the BQE being jammed up. Stop the insanity spend the money wisely cut the crap. Don’t use existing bike lanes.
I totally agree , I’m a school crossing guard and these cyclists DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT OBEY THE TRAFFIC LAWS ,,why do we keep on Accommodating them accommodate the people that pay taxes and the people that pay insurance I’m a taxpayer I’m sick and tired of paying for all theseCyclist lanes bike racks They don’t even use the bike racks they use stop sign poles light poles we have a find a space to park their bike come on it’s ridiculous already they want to ride there bikes let them go to the goddamn park city isn’t made for bikes and start making them pay some type of insurance why are they NOT ?????They cause most of the accidents
This is so incorrect and misinformed. Also, cyclists pay taxes too.
So HAVE THEM PAAY FOR INSURANCE JUST LIKE CARS AND TRUCKS THAT BRING ALL OUR. essentials here ,,why shouldn’t they when we have to pay for there bike lanes and racks and when they sped threw a stop sign and get hit the drivers insurance goes up because of there negligence
I’m sorry to inform you, Cookie, but people who do not drive—the majority of New Yorkers—pay for the roads that you drive on. Not to mention the massive subsidies given to drivers like free parking.
Cars require insurance and registration because they are inherently dangerous. Bikes are not!
What on earth is Lincoln Restler talking about a “consensus” for? No comprehensive survey was conducted. Emily Gallagher’s staff **refused** to send out mailers or conduct outreach to businesses east of McGuinness (maybe they just don’t like blue collar people?) but they could send out a useless happy holidays flyer to all of us. The “consensus” is Lincoln and a few of his friends.
The vast majority of residents/voters in Greenpoint and the surrounding area want this road safer for pedestrians/bicyclists etc. and reduced in size…2,500 signatures (+ both elected officals Gallager/Restler) support the project.
A vocal minority who profit from this deadly/polluting highway yell a lot. History will prove them wrong and I look forward to the new safer road. And btw, it’s spelled ‘McGuinness’ Tim.
Omanra, 2500 signatures on a petition (not even verified – how do you know the signers live here?) is not even close to a majority of the people of Greenpoint.
No the bass majority of people do not want that so I don’t know where you’re getting the vast majority of people it’s all you know hipsters that just came here in the last 10-15years that want this crap three point was fine before you got here leave it the way it was
If we reduce the truck traffic on McGuinness, won’t that push more truck traffic onto the surrounding streets? We already have too many trucks coming down Franklin & West.
Just like Kingsland Avenue it’s become a freeway for trucks to make a run from Meeker Ave to Greenpoint Ave. I ask Emily Gallagher how about correcting the quality of life for home owners who still live in their homes? I guess that’s not a popular issue, so it won’t get any attention
Personally, I’d like to see bike lanes, no parking and the use of speed bumps to slow the traffic way down. Trucks, scooters, and cars at such high speeds endangers everyone, even bikers with helmets, pedestrians, and folks in cars.
Bikers with white sorry I didn’t hear that bike is with white helmets the majority of the bikers do not weigh homeless people drive an electric scooter is to not wear home it’s even children riding bikes hardly wear helmets so I don’t know what country you’re in what state you’re in like I said I work outside all day OK !,,,I see people going through the stop signs and red lights in and out of traffic all day ,,, yeah the bicyclists the scooters those type of people that don’t wear helmets
Why don’t the bike lanes go down the median? Protected from the traffic…
Nyc needs to learn from other cities and other countries. Ridiculous potential but we are governed by headless chickens.
Agree McGuiness needs to be safer and I’m all in favor of new bike love. But after the disastrous redesign on Meeker, I have a hard time trusting any of these designs from the DOT. They really need to listen to the input of people who actually live here.
Amen! all those ridiculously overpriced parking spots under the highway sit empty now.. don’t even get me started on the other “improvements” on Meeker ugh
Why would you eliminate parking?! Why would you make it more difficult? What is wrong with you?!
Hey why don’t you guys eliminate trucks from coming into the city why don’t you just have people riding bikes and scooters like the Amish people do and you can go ride wherever you want to pick up your own produce and food about that let’s see how you like that guys
I’m a cyclist and I also have a car. I ride my bike on Manhattan Ave and drive my car on McGuiness. Manhattan Ave runs parallel and there are other streets too. You need to have one major boulevard for autos and trucks, it’s safer this way. You don’t need to share EVERY road. Cars and trucks are bigger and heavier and need more room.
Also, what a waste of $39 million dollars. How about putting that towards the schools?
A pedestrian footbridge cost on average $1 million to $5 million dollars complete. Mayor said they have $39 million, so who’s dropping the ball on this idea? Even I can come with a drawing on this plan. Pulaski Bridge has been needing a pedestrian footbridge for decades on that end.
I’d rather see them take the $39 million and build speed bumps on the residential side streets. I can’t stand when cars zoom down my block. I’m happy to leave McGuinness as a place where cars and trucks can actually get through at speed, if it makes the residential streets safer.