Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Eyes on the Street: Brownsville Celebrates Its New Bike Lanes

They may be just paint, but bike lanes and sharrows on New Lots Avenue, Pitkin Avenue, Mother Gaston Boulevard, Hendrix Street, and Schenck Avenue are the first step toward implementing a community-based plan for better bicycling in Brownsville. This morning, about 35 people took part in a celebratory ride of the neighborhood's first bike lanes organized by the Brownsville Partnership.

Before this morning's bike ride on Mother Gaston Boulevard. Photo: ##https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=500604686685014##Brownsville Partnership##

In 2011, Bettie Kollock-Wallace, who now serves as chair of Community Board 16, wanted safer routes for bike rides she led with Brownsville seniors to Prospect Park. She worked with a  range of groups -- including the Brownsville Partnership, Transportation Alternatives, Brookdale Hospital, the Brooklyn District Public Health Office, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, and the Pitkin Avenue BID -- to make it happen.

Within a year, DOT hosted public meetings asking residents to map out bike routes, and presented a plan to the community board. In February, the board voted to support the plan. "This is the best example of a true collaboration that I have seen in my years of community health work," Brownsville Partnership's Nupur Chaudhury said in a statement.

This morning's ride began at the Brownsville Bike Shop on Mother Gaston Boulevard and ended at the Tilden Senior Center. DOT is also installing more than 600 bike racks in the neighborhood, and more bike-related events will be happening at the Brownsville Recreation Center this summer.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

More Tantrums: City Halts 34th Street Busway After Threat from Trump DOT

The feds threatened to cut city and state funding if New York doesn't halt all work on the 34th Street busway so the FHWA can review the project.

October 17, 2025

READY, AIM, ‘MISFIRE’: NYPD’s Bike Speed-Limit Effort Only Adds Confusion in Central Park

Two slowly ambling pedestrians were clocked at 19 miles per hour. So what's the point of this, exactly?

October 17, 2025

Friday Video: Drool Over This London School Street

That's cricket! Check out how London transformed a roadway around a big stadium into a play street.

October 17, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Queen James Edition

State Attorney General Letitia James gave our national security desk reporters Dave Colon and David Meyer the ultimate hat tip. Plus other news.

October 17, 2025

Judge Orders Trump to Restore $34M in Security Funding to MTA

DHS overstepped its authority when it attempted to tie money from the Transit Security Grant Program to the Trump administration's efforts to deport immigrants, Judge Lewis Kaplan said.

October 16, 2025
See all posts