BROOKLYN, NY— A plan to eliminate a hazardous stretch of roadway surrounding Grand Army Plaza is expected to be announced Monday, first reported by the New York Times.
The plan will advance a long-debated redesign of one of Brooklyn’s most recognizable and dangerous intersections.
“Grand Army Plaza is the gateway to Brooklyn’s backyard, Prospect Park — and it should welcome New Yorkers with a street design that puts safety first,” Mamdani said in a statement to the Times. “Anyone who’s tried to cross here knows how dangerous and chaotic the streets can be. This redesign is long overdue and will provide a sense of ease and enjoyment to one of Brooklyn’s most important public spaces.”
The proposal would reconnect the plaza’s central landmark, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, with Prospect Park, restoring the 80-foot-tall structure as a primary entrance to the park, as originally designed.
City officials plan to ban cars along the southern edge of the plaza, from Union Street to Eastern Parkway, removing a four-lane crossing that pedestrians and cyclists now navigate. The changes would reshape the area into a continuous, more accessible public space.
The redesign calls for expanded bike lanes and pedestrian paths, while increasing the plaza’s footprint by roughly three-quarters of an acre — a 42 percent expansion. Plans would also reduce the number of crossings where pedestrians and cyclists intersect with traffic to 24, down from 39.
The changes aim to transform a space long defined by congestion into one centered on safety and access, reshaping how visitors enter and experience Brooklyn’s largest park.