NYC DOT Resuming Work on McGuinness Boulevard Redesign

The city will resume work on a scaled-back redesign of McGuinness Boulevard, NY Daily News reports.

DOT work crews are expected to return to Greenpoint today after taking a winter break. Work will resume near the Pulaski Bridge area, where the DOT has already begun adding bike lanes. 

According to NY Daily News, “DOT officials said the work would include new pedestrian islands, a new crossing at Freeman St. and signal upgrades, as well as visibility improvements and increased speed-limit enforcement.”

Notably, the redesign lacks the original plan’s hallmark—reducing a lane of traffic in either direction. The DOT was set to move ahead with the project last summer after years of studies and community outreach, but a last-ditch oppositional campaign led to Mayor Eric Adams calling for the DOT to go back to the drawing board, effectively killing the proposed redesign.

The compromised redesign entails two peak-hour vehicle travel lanes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and protected bike lanes in each direction, though critics have pointed out that the bike lane enforcement has been negligible, as cars frequently use it as parking.

“Traffic safety is a key priority for Mayor Adams, and we are delivering a redesign of McGuinness Boulevard that will make this corridor safer for everyone,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said of the work resuming today. “Too many New Yorkers have been injured or lost their lives on McGuinness Boulevard, and working with the community we will continue to make significant safety improvements.” 

The agency says it is still working to gather and analyze data to help determine the project’s next steps. However, elected officials have called this out as a way for the DOT to keep kicking the can down the road, as the DOT has not provided a specific, tangible timeline for the work’s completion.

A DOT spokesperson told Greenpointers that they expect to wrap up work on the north section this summer and that the analysis of this winter’s data should be completed “soon.”