Clinton Hill
Streetsblog Basics
Eyes on the Street: Checking Out Books at Putnam Plaza
When Putnam Plaza opened nearly two years ago in Clinton Hill, it was welcomed with a dance party. Last Friday, the dancing continued as the Fulton Area Business Alliance, the local business improvement district, held one of its FAB Friday events in the plaza. The space featured games, live music, and a portable library allowing people to sit and relax with a book. On Sunday evening, the BID hosted Soul Aerobics in the plaza. FAB Friday events are also scheduled this summer for Cuyler Gore Park and Fowler Square plaza in Fort Greene.
May 14, 2013
“Park Avenue Is Broken, And It Can Be Fixed”
Council Member Letitia James and Assembly Member Joseph Lentol joined local residents on Park Avenue in Brooklyn yesterday to push DOT and other city agencies to implement recommendations from the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Partnership's pedestrian safety plan. The plan calls for a set of pedestrian safety improvements and traffic enforcement measures to make Park Avenue less of a BQE service road and more of a neighborhood street.
September 11, 2012
Park Avenue Plan Challenges Agencies to Improve Street for Pedestrians
In 1959, when the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway was under construction, Park Avenue in the Wallabout section of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill was converted from a neighborhood street to a service road that would run underneath the new elevated highway. Walking on the street hasn't been the same since. With 160,000 cars roaring by overhead each day, two lanes in each direction on the surface, and more than 300 parking spaces in the median, the street is not what you would call pedestrian-friendly. It's also dangerous, with a crash rate higher than three-quarters of Brooklyn streets.
September 10, 2012
CB 2 Committee Asks DOT to Study Lafayette Avenue Bike Lane
It only took Hilda Cohen and Ali Loxton ten weeks to collect 1,600 signatures supporting a traffic-calming redesign, including a bike lane, for Brooklyn's Lafayette Avenue. Yesterday evening they took their petition to the transportation committee of Community Board 2 and made their case. The result: a 9-1 committee vote asking DOT to study Cohen and Loxton's proposal.
January 18, 2012
Clinton Hill Celebrates Putnam Plaza With Dance Party
Last Monday, DOT workers laid down gravel and epoxy on top of the asphalt on a block of Putnam Avenue, transforming the area between Fulton Street and Grand Avenue from through street to public space. On Sunday, Clinton Hill came out to celebrate. The opening weekend block party was captured by local documentary maker Adele Pham, who distilled two minutes and 12 seconds of pure feel-good video.
September 27, 2011
Eyes on the Street: Witness the Birth of Putnam Plaza
Meet the city's newest public space: Putnam Plaza. The epoxy and gravel surface just went down on the block of Putnam Avenue between Fulton Street and Grand Avenue in Clinton Hill. Seating and tables should arrive before the week is out.
September 19, 2011
Brooklyn CB2 Committee Seeks Better Fort Greene Bike Connections
The transportation committee of Brooklyn Community Board 2 voted unanimously Tuesday night to advance the idea of improving cycling connections between Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods. The proposal put forward by committee member Mike Epstein envisions safer bicycling across Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, spanning intersections that are currently among the most dangerous in Brooklyn. A resolution asking DOT to study the plan's feasibility is now expected to come up before the full board at a meeting next month.
February 18, 2010
What Should Happen at Myrtle Avenue’s New Plaza? The Public Weighs In
A two-block pedestrian plaza is coming to Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill, replacing an underused service road between Grand Avenue and Emerson Place. Last Friday, the local business improvement district unveiled eight potential ideas for the site (check out the BID's Flickr stream to see them all) and asked viewers for their feedback.
February 8, 2010
NYPD Can’t Answer Questions About Traffic Crime
The Times recently launched a couple of new blogs devoted to neighborhood coverage, and today the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill outlet posted an interesting Q&A with officers at the 88th Precinct. Here's a revealing answer from Captain Vanessa Kight about traffic enforcement:
March 18, 2009
Sleek Bike Parking Facilities Appear in Queens and Brooklyn
2008 quickly bring good news for commuters in Downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City, Queens. Eric Chang of Transportation Alternatives' Queens Committee snapped these photos of the new covered bike shelter that was just installed at the Vernon Blvd /Jackson Avenue station on the 7 line in Long Island City. The third photo is from Fort Greene where Gil Ronen (pictured) along with T.A. and Green Fort Greene & Clinton Hill were instrumental in bringing over 70 new CityRacks to the historic Brooklyn neighborhood.
January 2, 2008