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

Tonight: Queens Community Board 5 Takes Up Myrtle-Wyckoff Plaza

3:49 PM EDT on July 13, 2016

Reconfiguring this dangerous intersection with a car-free plaza will simplify vehicle movements and reduce the potential for turning drivers to hit pedestrians. Image: DOT
Reconfiguring this dangerous intersection with a car-free plaza will simplify vehicle movements and reduce the potential for turning drivers to hit pedestrians. Image: DOT
The new plaza simplified vehicle movements and reduced the potential for turning drivers to hit pedestrians. Image: DOT [PDF]

Queens Community Board 5 will vote on DOT's safety plan for the Myrtle-Wyckoff transit hub at its monthly meeting this evening. The plan, which creates a one-block public plaza on Wyckoff Avenue between Gates and Myrtle [PDF], won near-unanimous support from the CB 5 transportation committee three weeks ago.

Since 2009, three pedestrians have been killed by drivers at the six-legged Myrtle-Wyckoff intersection. Initial changes that simplified turning movements failed to prevent the death of Edgar Torres, who was struck by a turning bus driver while crossing with the right of way in 2014.

In March, CB 5 Chair Vincent Arcuri said he was reluctant to go ahead with the car-free block, but recognized the need to prevent more injuries and deaths. “Something has to be done, obviously,” he told Streetsblog. "We’ve tried different things and we still haven’t stopped the fatalities. I have mixed feelings about the plaza, but what else can you do?"

While CB 5 members have warmed to the proposal, the same cannot be said for Brooklyn CB 4, which represents the southern side of the project area and failed to support the plan last month. Council Member Antonio Reynoso, who represents areas served by both community boards, has said he believes DOT should move forward with the project.

You can weigh in on the project at tonight's meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Christ the King High School, located at 68-02 Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Can We Just Keep Cars Off the Queensbridge Baby Greenway?

Why do we allow car drivers to park on greenways, in parks and on tree beds?

March 29, 2024

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024
See all posts