Eyes on the Street: Fowler Square Plaza Opens in Fort Greene

5:19 PM EDT on May 11, 2012

The Fowler Square pedestrian plaza opened today and is already being used. Photo: Brownstoner.

Fort Greene's newest public plaza opened today and Brownstoner was on the scene to capture the moment. The plaza, which reclaimed space for pedestrians on a short, lightly-trafficked block of South Elliott Place between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue, connects the sidewalk to an existing public triangle.

Even though construction only finished today (because the plaza materials are epoxy, gravel, granite blocks and planters, it only took about a week to install, Brownstoner reported), it's already getting use. One of those now-iconic folding tables had a crowd of people gathered around it.

At the request of the community board, DOT will be evaluating the impact of the street reclamation on traffic flows and pedestrian life over the summer.

In addition to creating new public space, the plaza shortened this crosswalk, improving pedestrian safety. Photo: Brownstoner

Noah Kazis

Noah joined Streetsblog as a New York City reporter at the start of 2010. When he was a kid, he collected subway paraphernalia in a Vignelli-map shoebox. Before coming to Streetsblog, he blogged at TheCityFix DC and worked as a field organizer for the Obama campaign in Toledo, Ohio. Noah graduated from Yale University, where he wrote his senior thesis on the class politics of transportation reform in New York City. He lives in Morningside Heights.

Stay in touch

More from Streetsblog New York City

Temporary Tags

DOT Re-Ups With Speed Camera Operator But Temp Tags Are Still Unticketable

The city has lost tens of millions in unpaid fines because the company that runs our speed- and red-light cameras can't catch cars with temp tags. But that company just inked a new $1-billion five-year deal.