‘I don’t understand the logic’
Locals call for better outreach as city looks to make Seventh, Eighth Avenues one-way
BY JESSICA PARKS
City transportation offi cials
are looking to convert a span of
Seventh and Eighth avenues
to one-way streets, but members
of more than one community
board maintain that the
agency hasn’t done enough to
inform residents about the major
traffi c adjustment
“I don’t understand the
logic behind it and I am incredibly
frustrated,” said Julio
Peña III, fi rst vice-chair
of Sunset Park’s Community
Board 7. “This is the city saying,
‘once again, we’re making
decisions that are going to
have a signifi cant impact and
just rush them through.’”
Under the city Department
of Transportation’s current
proposal, portions of both the
two-way thoroughfares would
be converted to one-ways, with
Seventh Avenue running south
and Eighth Avenue running
north between 39th and 65th
streets — a stretch spanning
community boards 7, 10 and 12.
In addition to the conversion
— which offi cials contend
COURIER L 6 IFE, JUNE 11-17, 2021
would ease congestion
— the project includes a slew
of other safety improvements
and considerations, an online
presentation shows, such as
expanded sidewalks on Eighth
Avenue between 60th and 51st
streets, new loading and parking
regulations, protected
bike lanes and the rerouting
of the southbound B70 bus to
Seventh Avenue as well as the
consolidation of bus stops.
And while the one-way conversion
ends at 65th Street,
there are elements of the project
that continue onto 67th
Street such as the addition of a
left turning lane at 65th Street
and Eighth Avenue, a new protected
bike lane at 66th Street
to connect cyclists from Seventh
to Eighth Avenue and angled
parking on the northside
of 67th Street between Seventh
and Ninth avenues.
The expansive proposal requires
careful review from the
impacted community boards,
members contend, arguing
that transportation offi cials
have hardly given the local
panels a chance to examine
the proposal and its impacts.
“I think we all understand
the need for traffi c mitigation
along the business corridors,”
Pena said, “but for me, what
really struck me was that
there wasn’t any kind of outreach
on the city’s part.”
Locals further argue that
the proposal consists of diverse
conditions — unique
traffi c patterns, intersections
with high crash history and
stretches switching between
commercial and residential —
which need to be considered.
“It is a very large project
that I believe requires a great
deal of outreach and public review
because it’s such a vast
area,” said Josephine Beckmann,
district manager of Bay
Ridge’s Community Board 10.
Some board members have
speculated that the lack of
communication could be tied
to news that offi cials aren’t requesting
the panels’ approval
of the proposal. At May’s general
board meeting, the head
of Community Board 7’s transportation
committee said he
was told by DOT that any future
meetings about the plan would
be purely informational.
“About a week ago, we were
informed by the DOT that our
approval would no longer be
necessary for this project to
move forward,” said Zachary
Jasie. “They want our input
but don’t want our approval.”
Instead, the project is subject
to the approval of a community
advisory board, which
some claim was handpicked in
order to ensure passage.
“I think they’re going to implement
their own community
process,” Peña said. “They
are going to do some rubberstamp
process with hand-chosen
people, to make it look like
community engagement.”
Jasie told his fellow board
members at the May meeting
that there would be an informational
session with transportation
offi cials on June
23, and on Monday, DOT announced
an additional informational
meeting June 14.
Community Board 12 and
DOT did not return requests
for comment by press time.
The city’s Department of Transportation wants to convert a stretch of
Seventh and Eighth avenues to one-way streets. NYC DOT
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