‘We can change the city’s streets’
City to invest $39 million to redesign deadly McGuinness Boulevard
COURIER LIFE, JUNE 18-24, 2021 5
BY BEN BRACHFELD
The city is pledging $39
million to “fully redesign”
McGuinness Boulevard in
Greenpoint, where a hit-andrun
driver fatally struck a
public school teacher last
month, Mayor Bill de Blasio
announced on Friday.
“Vision Zero has made
New York City safer and more
livable — but its work isn’t
fi nished until corridors like
McGuinness Boulevard are
improved for everyone who
uses them,” the mayor said in
a statement. “We can change
this city’s streets for the better
and forge a better Greenpoint
for generations of Brooklynites
to come.”
Matthew Jensen, an educator
at Greenpoint’s PS 110, was
crossing McGuinness on May
18 when he was fatally struck by
a driver in a Rolls-Royce, who
subsequently fl ed the scene.
The NYPD has not yet made
many arrests in the killing.
The mayor announced
his commitment to redesign
McGuinness on May 28 at
a rally at McGolrick Park,
across the street from PS 110,
though he was scant on details
at the time.
The city will immediately
begin work to upgrade some of
the most glaring safety issues
on the thoroughfare, such as
missing crosswalks, as well as
implementing “turn calming”
measures. That fi rst phase of
work is expected to be completed
by the fall.
The bulk of the $39 million
will go towards larger capital
construction projects to redesign
the thoroughfare, such as
by adding protected bike lanes
and “shortening pedestrian
crossings,” which is expected
to be complete in 2022.
Local pols, including Borough
President Eric Adams,
Assemblymember Emily Gallagher,
and Councilmember
Stephen Levin, gave their
support to the project on Friday,
saying the safety changes
were long overdue.
“The Mayor’s historic investment
will restore a basic
right to our community: the
freedom to cross the street without
fear of death of injury,” said
Gallagher, who has heavily lobbied
for a redesign in recent
weeks. “McGuinness Boulevard
has long symbolized the
deadly consequences of infrastructure
that prioritizes speeding
cars and trucks over human
life. That changes now. I am so
proud of this community for
coming together in the aftermath
of tragedy after tragedy to
demand change. And I am grateful
to our Mayor for truly listening.
Let’s get to work.”
Greenpoint’s Community
Board 1 is also in lockstep with
the mayor, after the Transportation
Committee voted in favor
of pursuing a full redesign.
“While we were greatly saddened
by the tragic loss of our
esteemed educator, Matthew
Jensen, we are inspired by the
quick hand of our mayor to address
this issue and ensure
that action is taken so that the
residents and visitors to Community
Board 1 remain safe in
their travels,” said CB1 chair
Dealice Fuller.
McGuinness has long
been identifi ed as an unsafe
street. Three people, including
Jensen, have been killed
on the stretch in Greenpoint
between the Pulaski Bridge
and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway,
and dozens have
been injured, according to
NYC Crash Mapper.
“Activists have been sounding
the alarm about the dangerous
conditions on McGuinness
Boulevard for a decade,”
said Danny Harris, the executive
director of Transportation
Alternatives. “A $39 million
plan to immediately begin
safety improvements will go a
long way to preventing crashes
like the hit-and-run that killed
Matthew Jensen.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio attended a rally on May 28 to promise a redesign of
McGuinness Boulevard. Photo by Dean Moses
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