City moves forward with scaled-back McGuinness Boulevard redesign

A plan to take away lanes of traffic and add protected bike lanes on busy McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint will be scaled back. The Department of Transportation shared its plan with elected officials on Tuesday for the street’s redesign, which will extend a bike lane to the southern half of McGuinness but not reduce the number of traffic lanes or create a protected bike path as originally proposed, The City reported. According to reports, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration pushed for the watered-down redesign, citing community concerns over the plan.

This marks the second time the redesign has been scrapped in recent years, following a campaign led by the Argentos, a well-known family in Greenpoint who are allies of Adams, as reported by The City.

The southern portion of McGuinness Boulevard is notorious for traffic incidents, including one death and more than 150 traffic-related injuries from January through July of 2024, according to NYC Crash Mapper.

The revision of the plan angered many North Brooklyn elected officials, who have been eagerly awaiting the project for over a year since it was first announced. The proposed plan would have removed two lanes and added bike lanes separated from traffic by rows of parked cars.

A group of city officials, including Council Members Lincoln Restler and Jennifer Gutiérrez, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, and several others, released a joint statement responding to Mayor Adams’ decision to revise the plan:

“Greenpoint residents have demanded that Mayor Adams finally address the deadly conditions on McGuinness Boulevard and make our community safer, but he ignored us. After repeatedly changing his mind and undermining DOT’s evidence-based redesign, Mayor Adams is going forward with a plan that fails Greenpoint by preserving the most dangerous elements of this roadway that runs through the middle of our community. We will not stop fighting until we successfully prioritize the safety of our neighbors above all else.”

Vincent Barone, a DOT spokesperson, said the agency plans to proceed with a modified version of the redesign that will mimic the work already done on the northern portion of the roadway, including adding bike lanes and an off-hours parking lane.

“This redesign for McGuinness Boulevard will make this corridor much safer for everyone, including drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists,” Barone told The City. “Based on community feedback, NYC DOT will be extending the protected bike lane from Calyer Street to Meeker Avenue while also delivering a new network of bike lanes, better connecting cyclists to Meeker Avenue and points south, and adding sidewalk extensions at streets intersecting McGuinness Boulevard.”

According to Streetsblog, the redesign will move forward starting in September.

RELATED:

• NYC announces pedestrian safety upgrades for Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue
• NYC ‘Summer Streets’ to return with longer hours for more car-free fun
• Free live music coming to 11 plazas and open streets across NYC