Pedestrians & Sidewalks
Public Plaza Program
Round III Plazas
DOT has selected three sites for the third round of the NYC Plaza Program. In total, twelve applications were submitted from throughout the City. Applications were reviewed and evaluated according to the City's strategic goals as presented in PlaNYC and site-specific criteria, including:
- Open space - whether or not the neighborhood lacked open space
- Community initiative - the extent to which the applicant had developed a community plan, consensus for the site, and garnered local support
- Site context - the proposed site's relationship to surrounding land uses and businesses, proximity to transit, the presence of significant view corridors or historic sites, and pedestrian activity
- Organizational capacity - the extent to which the applicant is willing and able to program activities, maintain, operate and manage the plaza once it is built
- Income eligibility - applicants received additional points for proposals located in neighborhoods that qualify as low- or moderate-income
New Lots Triangle, Brooklyn
Ashford Street, Livonia Avenue, and New Lots Avenue, Community Board 5
Partner: New Lots Avenue Triangle Merchants Association, Inc.
New Lots Triangle is a busy transportation hub with active retail. Located at the terminus of the elevated 3 train and Shore Parkway's B6 bus, and in the middle of the B15 bus route to JFK, the triangle is currently an 800 square foot concrete island surrounded by moving traffic. A redesign will provide approximately 5,000 square feet by connecting the island to the sidewalk across Ashford Street to make a safer, more pleasant public space beneath the elevated train structure. The New Lots Avenue Triangle Merchants Association envisions a weekly farmer's market where merchants and residents can shop, sell goods, and have a greater opportunity to interact with each other.
Fowler Square, Brooklyn
Lafayette Avenue & Fulton Street, Community Board 2
Partner: Fulton Area Business (FAB) Alliance
In the heart of Fort Greene, Fowler Square (formerly Lafayette Square) is a traffic island and Greenstreet memorial to Civil War hero Brigadier General Edward Fowler (1828-1896). The project will seek to enhance and possibly expand the Greenstreet onto both Lafayette Avenue and South Elliott Place to provide a smoother walking surface and seating options at this important gateway to Fort Greene. The FAB Alliance seeks to make a plaza design that will protect and highlight the significance of General Fowler and to partner with the many community performing and visual arts organizations, schools and merchants to create programming to activate Fowler Square as a true neighborhood destination.
Zion Triangle, Brooklyn
East New York Ave & Pitkin Avenue, Community Board 16
Partner: Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District
Located in East New York at the entrance to the burgeoning retail strip along Pitkin Avenue, Zion Triangle is park that in disrepair but home to a magnificent limestone war memorial. Adjacent to the historic Pitkin Theater, which is being redeveloped to provide added retail and a new charter school, the redesign of Zion Triangle will expand the park and seek to enhance safety and provide a refuge for residents, shoppers, and nearby school children to enjoy the public realm. By creating a focal point that will become both a neighborhood destination and a welcoming gateway to the community's historic shopping district, the Pitkin Avenue BID believes Zion Triangle will support further nearby revitalization.
