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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2019
Groundbreaking achievement Injuries in Smith
Construction begins on new P’ Park Entrances Street smash
Jeff Dalton writhes in pain on Smith Street as cyclists grill the
driver who pulled in front of him. Photos by Colin Mixson
BY COLIN MIXSON
A cyclist was injured
after a driver pulled a sudden
U-turn in Downtown
Brooklyn on Wednesday,
before nearly backing into
a second cyclist a few minutes
later, according to the
victims.
“I’m a life long New
Yorker and rider. I have
never experienced that,”
said Jeff Dalton, a Kensington
resident, who was
injured in the collision.
Dalton said he was
pedaling northbound on
Smith Street between Livingston
and Fulton streets
at around 9:45 am, when
the driver attempted the Uturn
across Smith Street.
But the maneuver was
obscured by an idling bus,
according to Dalton, who
said he smashed into the
car head on.
“Because of the bus
everything was blocked,
I can’t see... all of a sudden
this guy pops out in a
U-turn. I hit him straight
on, right in the middle of
the lane,” explained Dalton.
A group of cyclists
stopped to assist Dalton
as he lay on Smith Street
clutching his groin, including
Rachel Wolfe, who
asked the driver to write
down his name and insurance
information.
However, as Dalton
picked himself up, Wolfe
began making her way
to the sidewalk, when the
motorist nearly ran her
down as he backed out of
the northbound lane. “As
After Dalton collided with him,
the driver then nearly backed
into Wolfe.
I was pulling my bike to
the side, he backed up into
me!” Wolfe explained. “Not
a good day for him.”
Dalton did not call police
following the collision,
saying he doesn’t trust the
criminal justice system,
and later shook hands with
the driver, with whom he
pleaded to drive safely.
“I don’t like the police,
I don’t know what to do,
except you should learn
from this lesson and drive
safer,” Dalton told the motorist.
Afterwards, the driver
admitted he was unaware of
nearly backing into Wolfe,
and when asked about the
near miss, he said, “I did?”
There are 53 parking and
camera violations attached
to the driver’s license plate
number, including three
camera violations for
speeding in a school zone,
which have altogether resulted
in $4,753 in fi nes, according
to Twitter-based
search database How’s My
Driving NY .
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
A cadre of Parks offi cials
and local pols broke ground
on a $3.2 million project
Thursday to add two grand
entryways along Prospect
Park’s Flatbush Avenue border,
which will make Brooklyn’s
Backyard lovelier and
more accessible than ever,
according to the park’s chief
steward.
“The community will
not only enjoy better access
to the park, but also beautiful
spaces for relaxation
and connecting to nature,”
said Prospect Park Alliance
President Susan Donoghue,
who joined Councilwoman
Laurie Cumbo (D-Crown
Heights), Brooklyn Parks
Commissioner Martin Maher,
and City Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver for the
ground breaking. “In opening
this up, it will provide
more access to some beautiful
parts of the park.”
When completed next
summer, the new entrances
— both located between
Grand Army Plaza and
Prospect Park Zoo — will
feature a sprawling array of
gardens, benches, lighting,
and public art.
The completion of the
gateways will mark the fi rst
new entrances to Brooklyn’s
Backyard since the 1940s,
and will break up the threequarters
of a mile stretch between
entrances at Grand
Army Plaza and the menagerie
— which currently
represents the longest continuous
stretch of Prospect
Park without a formal access
point.
The effort is part of the
$50 million ‘Parks Without
Borders’ initiative, which
aims to break down barriers
to the city’s green spaces.
Prospect Park became one
of eight parks to get an upgrade
under the initiative
after offi cials put the matter
to a vote and Brooklyn’s
Backyard nabbed a whopping
965 votes — more than
any other green space in the
city.
“We put out a call for
ideas, and Prospect Park
was the top vote-getter citywide.”
said Silver.
The new entrances, located between Grand Army Plaza and the Prospect Park Zoo, will feature several
gardens, benches, lighting, and artwork. Prospect Park Alliance
Prospect Park’s Flatbush
Avenue perimeter has
gotten a lot of love from the
city recently, and construction
of the new entrances
coincides a $2.35 million
Parks Department scheme
to enhance the thoroughfare’s
sidewalk bordering
the park between Grand
Army Plaza and the Prospect
Park Zoo with new
paving, benches, lights, and
fencing.
Work on that project was
supposed to wrap in November
2018, but delays caused
by hidden below-ground
infrastructure and a sudden,
unexplained work stoppage
set the project back
by about a year, and construction
is now expected
to be completed next month.
Once that’s fi nished, the Department
of Transportation
will redesign the roadway to
include new bus islands and
a protected bike lane , the latter
of which should be completed
this fall.
It’s a big improvement
over what came before, according
to Cumbo, who said
the strip was downright
spooky before all the upgrades.
“When I used to walk this
strip... it literally felt like you
were staring in the ‘Thriller’
video with Michael Jackson.
It just seemed like a haunted
strip,” said Cumbo. “It’s important
that we create a
space that’s beautiful, and
also safe — people should
feel safe exercising and jogging
around the park at 11
o’clock at night, or walking
with their families.”
Prospect Park Alliance President
Susan Donoghue and
Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo
smile inside a construction vehicle.
Photo by Aidan Graham