City Hall is opening up Grand Army Plaza but locals see a dead end.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a long-simmering plan to connect the plaza to Prospect Park by closing a roadway between them — but neighbors worry the change will be a grand ol’ mess.
The proposal would connect the two areas by removing a key roadway that now separates the park from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch and replace it with nearly an acre of new public space for people walking, biking and riding the bus.
“Anyone who’s tried to cross here knows how dangerous and chaotic the streets can be,” Mamdani said. “This redesign is long overdue and will provide a sense of ease and enjoyment to one of Brooklyn’s most important public spaces.”
Cars would be banned from the southern section by the park and arch while keeping traffic flowing on the north and east sides of the circle.
But some locals said City Hall is about to turn the traffic circle into a traffic circus. Alex B., 35, believes the changes will do the opposite of what the mayor promises.
“I think that would be very chaotic. I don’t think it would be a benefit in any way,” Alex said. “It’s already hard enough to get around sometimes. I think that would definitely create more traffic.”
Buster Domingo, who lives in the area and drives through the plaza, called the proposal “a terrible idea” and said the current pattern already works.
“This is going to take time out of people getting to work and getting home,” Domingo said. “For them to stop what’s already working, it’ll make everyone detour. This might create about 15-20 minutes or more of traffic.”
Valentine Douglas, 53, called the plan “idiotic” and worried that cutting off the connector road will push cars onto side streets.
“Where is all that other traffic gonna go?” Douglas said. “It’s gonna feed into all of these residential neighborhoods.”
But Melissa Avalo, 32, who rides her bike through the plaza, wasn’t ready to ready to slam the brakes on the new plan.
She said the intersection in its current iteration “can be a little bit of a mess,” especially in warmer months when more pedestrians and park-goers are out.
“If we can kind of bring in the chaos a little bit and if these changes help, that’s gonna be great for our safety in the long run,” Avalo said.
Meghan Carey, 24, welcomed the changes after she said her Uber driver almost got in an accident in the intersection.
“I say they should’ve changed the intersection a long time ago,” Carey said.
“I would see this benefiting pedestrians more, but generally benefiting everyone as a whole along with the functioning of that circle,” she added.
City Hall was clear about who it wants in the driver’s seat — even if they don’t drive.
“Every time NYC DOT has provided more space to pedestrians at the park, it’s been an instant success,” DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said.
The announcement Tuesday comes after years of small tweaks to improve traffic and pedestrian flow in the jammed area and pushes for larger changes, including the Design Trust’s 2008 “Reinventing Grand Army Plaza” competition, which explicitly called for a comprehensive redesign and stronger park connection.
The DOT plans to refine the design through a series of public workshops beginning April 23.
