![\"NYC](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Grand-Army-Plaza.jpg\" "\\"NYC")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
New York City wants to close a chaotic street between Grand Army Plaza and Prospect Park, connecting the plaza to the 585-acre green space with a new car-free pedestrian space. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Monday announced<\/a> a proposal to remove the four-way crossing next to the Soldiers\u2019 and Sailors\u2019 Memorial Arch<\/a> and ban cars from Union Street to Eastern Parkway along the plaza\u2019s southern edge. The redesign also includes new bike lanes and bus priority upgrades aimed at improving service on the B41 and B6, two of Brooklyn\u2019s busiest routes.<\/p>\n Grand Army Plaza was designed in 1867 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux as the formal entrance to Prospect Park.<\/p>\n Those who visit the plaza\u2019s iconic arch and Prospect Park are familiar with the hectic experience of crossing the wide avenue between the landmark and the green space, where Park Slope and Prospect Heights converge, and the main entrance to the park.<\/p>\n Residents and advocacy groups have complained about traffic in the area for decades. In 1955, one publication described the traffic circle as \u201cthe only concrete asphalt and roulette wheel in the world,\u201d according to the New York Times<\/a>. Between 2021 and 2025, there were 219 traffic injuries along the plaza\u2019s roadways and outer ring.<\/p>\n The proposal seeks to address these long-standing concerns by making the experience of visiting the arch and park less stressful. The redesign would add roughly three-quarters of an acre to the 14-acre plaza, a 42 percent expansion, and reduce the number of pedestrian crossings from 39 to 24.<\/p>\n Redesigning the roadway would also improve bus speeds, the Department of Transportation (DOT) told the Times, as the project would ease congestion in and around the circular roadway. The effort would be complemented by the ongoing redesign of Flatbush Avenue<\/a>, which connects to Grand Army Plaza and includes center-running bus lanes.<\/p>\n \u201cGrand Army Plaza is the gateway to Brooklyn\u2019s backyard, Prospect Park\u2014and it should welcome New Yorkers with street design that puts safety first,\u201d Mamdani said. <\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who\u2019s 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\u2019s most important public spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n Plans to redesign the plaza began circulating in 2022<\/a> under former Mayor Eric Adams, but have since stalled. The project has now been revived under the Mamdani administration. The selected plan would remove cars from the plaza\u2019s southern edge and divert traffic to adjacent streets.<\/p>\n In 2024, workshops showed substantial community support for the project, with over 85 percent of the 3,600 survey respondents supporting a plan that would better connect the park and plaza to the arch.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re ecstatic that NYC will be connecting Grand Army Plaza\u2019s arch to the rest of Prospect Park,\u201d Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said. \u201cThis is a major step forward for everyone who visits Brooklyn\u2019s backyard, and a restoration of Olmsted\u2019s original vision for his favorite park.<\/p>\n Furnas added: \u201cWith this proposal, one of Brooklyn\u2019s most confusing and harrowing intersections will transform into a new marquee public space for all to enjoy\u2014on foot, on a bike or on the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n The DOT will finalize the project\u2019s design through a series of public workshops beginning April 23. More information and a public survey will be posted online on the day of the workshops and will be available online<\/a> through May 31.<\/p>\n Once capital project scope development concludes this year, the DOT will explore ways to reconstruct the roadway to include new pedestrian and cyclist amenities.<\/p>\n The April 23 workshop will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the DOT tent south of the archway in Grand Army Plaza. In case of rain, the event will move to the Grand Lobby of the Brooklyn Public Library. On April 25, another workshop will take place at the same location from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n On April 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., the DOT will host a virtual workshop on Zoom. You can register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NYC-DOT-Grand-Army-Plaza-Proposal-1040x770.jpeg\")
(L) Proposal redesign of Grand Army Plaza, (R) current design. Credit: NYC DOT<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NYC-DOT-Grand-Army-Plaza-Proposal-2-1040x693.jpeg\")
Credit: NYC DOT<\/p>\n