{"id":41770,"date":"2026-10-31T15:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/?p=41770"},"modified":"2026-10-31T15:49:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T15:49:02","slug":"mayor-mamdani-unveils-major-safety-overhaul-of-third-avenue-in-sunset-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/archives\/41770","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Mamdani unveils major safety overhaul of third avenue in Sunset park"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn unveiled plans to redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue in Brooklyn, making it safer to cross, reducing speeding and reckless driving and creating protected space for cyclists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The redesign will overhaul one of Brooklyn\u2019s most dangerous streets, where 17 people have died over the past decade. Those deaths include nurse Jiayi Zheng, who was killed in a hit-and-run in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what keeps New Yorkers safe on our streets: calmer intersections, shorter crossings, protected bike lanes and ambitious redesigns that put people first,\u201d said Mayor Mamdani.<\/p>\n

\u201c17 people have lost their lives along this corridor in a decade. That cannot continue. Starting next year, we will transform Third Avenue to protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. And across this city, we will redesign our most dangerous streets over the next three years. Preventable traffic deaths are not inevitable, and we will not accept them as the price of getting around our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo many New Yorkers have lost their lives simply trying to navigate Brooklyn\u2019s Third Avenue. After years of delays, this administration will complete a comprehensive redesign of one of Brooklyn\u2019s most dangerous streets,\u201d said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis administration is being proactive with street safety. As we announced in our new Vision Zero action plan, we will ensure all of the city\u2019s most dangerous streets will receive safety improvements over the next three years because we cannot wait for the next tragedy to strike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starting in 2027, NYC DOT will redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue, from 62nd Street to 20th Street, with new pedestrian islands, redesigned intersections and barrier-protected bike lanes in both directions along the center median. Similar redesigns have been shown to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries among all road users by 30%.<\/p>\n

Third Avenue is currently 150 feet wide and, along much of the corridor, has six moving lanes, two parking lanes and a 52-foot-wide center median. Pedestrians must cross the equivalent of half of a football field just to get from one side of the avenue to the other.<\/p>\n

The proposed redesign will use the new pedestrian islands and sidewalk and median extensions to cut the distance people must travel across moving traffic by up to half.<\/p>\n

NYC DOT will also install a two-way, parking-protected bike lane on 60th Street between Second and Fourth avenues. The project will improve safety near two schools and connect Fourth Avenue\u2019s protected bike lanes and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway on Second Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we\u2019re finally responding to the pleas of Sunset Park neighbors who have suffered through year after year of preventable tragedies on Third Avenue,\u201d said State Senator Andrew Gounardes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be a traffic engineer to know this street is dangerous \u2014 you just have to try to walk across it. But crossing the street shouldn\u2019t mean putting your life at risk. Now, we\u2019re taking action to make Third Avenue truly safe for everyone who uses it, no matter how they get around. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani and NYCDOT for this crucial work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the persistent advocacy of Community Board 7 and Sunset Park residents, safer streets are finally coming to this dangerous corridor,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.<\/p>\n

“This redesign will calm traffic, reduce crossing distances and improve visibility \u2014 helping prevent fatal crashes and delivering safer streets for everyone. I\u2019m grateful to Mayor Mamdani and DOT for implementing this redesign, and I look forward to working with the Mayor and local stakeholders to advance a vision for Sunset Park that addresses the longstanding needs of this community beyond Third Ave.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThird Avenue has been a source of tremendous fear and grief for our community over recent years. This responsive plan will be a major step towards improving street safety in Sunset Park,\u201d said Council Member Alexa Avil\u00e9s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe redesign will start at the most problematic portion of the Avenue, ensuring that local students and families will be able to cross the street with ease of mind. I am excited to see this full project come to fruition and grateful to the Mayor and those at the Department of Transportation for prioritizing the needs of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThird Avenue is an important part of our community, with schools, healthcare facilities, local businesses and families who rely on this corridor every day,\u201d said Cynthia Felix-Jeffers, Chair, Brooklyn Community Board 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking it safer is about protecting our children, our neighbors and everyone who walks, works and travels along this avenue. We appreciate Mayor Mamdani, our elected officials and City agency partners for listening to our community, valuing our concerns and working alongside us toward safer streets for everyone. Brooklyn Community Board 7 will continue working alongside our neighbors and city agency partners to advocate for improvements that make Third Avenue safer for everyone who calls our community home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t be happier that Third Avenue in Sunset Park will finally be safe,\u201d said Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio, Executive Co-Chair of Families for Safe Streets New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a significant milestone for everyone who lives here or works here or just travels through the neighborhood. We want to thank the Mamdani administration for listening to the community, especially all of the Sunset Park schools, who came out and repeatedly demanded better. Lives will be saved because of this redesign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThird Avenue has been deadly for generations, and that\u2019s finally going to change,\u201d said Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an ambitious and thoughtful redesign only made possible by community voices demanding safety, a DOT willing to step up to a challenge and make a real transformation and elected officials fighting alongside us each step of the way. These safer pedestrian crossings and bike connections will revolutionize a deadly corridor into a neighborhood street where everyone feels safe walking, pushing a stroller or biking along Third Avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJiayi Zheng\u2019s loss was a terrible tragedy for her family and our community. We are grateful to the Mayor and the Department of Transportation for prioritizing the redesign of the Third Avenue corridor,\u201d said Bret J. Rudy, MD, Executive Vice President and Anne N. Chenault Chief of Hospital Operations at NYU Langone Hospital\u2014Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety of our patients, staff, visitors and all who live and work in this neighborhood is of paramount importance. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the city and community to advance meaningful safety improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe human toll of traffic crashes along 3rd Avenue has been devastating, and the city\u2019s commitment to a safety-focused redesign in very welcome news,\u201d said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC.<\/p>\n

\u201c3rd Avenue has been the textbook definition of a traffic sewer, and we look forward to a future in which safety of vulnerable users is first and foremost on the avenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 3rd Avenue Corridor has continually been an unsafe space causing countless traffic deaths,” said the Chinese-American Planning Council.<\/p>\n

“CPC stands with community partners and community members advocating for an infrastructure improvement, redesign, with safety in mind, to create a pedestrian and community friendly space.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEWYORK: Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn unveiled plans to redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue in Brooklyn, making it safer to cross, reducing speeding and reckless driving and creating protected space for cyclists. The redesign will overhaul one of Brooklyn\u2019s most dangerous streets, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":41767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1469,31,1378],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york","category-news","category-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41770"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41772,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41770\/revisions\/41772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vosa.tv\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}