Brooklyn Community Board 6 May 2015 Position on Car Free Prospect Park

THE CITY OF NEW YORK COMMUNITY BOARD SIX Eric Adams Gary G. Reilly Craig Hammerman Borough President Chairperson District Manager 250 Baltic Street Brooklyn, New York 11201-6401 www.BrooklynCB6.org t: (718) 643-3027 f: (718) 624-8410 e: [email protected] May 22, 2015 Hon. Bill de Blasio Mayor City Hall New York, New York 10007 Dear Mayor de Blasio: One of our residents has recently begun circulating a petition calling for the wholesale removal of motor vehicles from Prospect Park. And while this concept may be new to some people, for us it is a piece of lingering, unfinished business. Brooklyn Community Board 6 adopted a resolution on July 7, 1998 calling for the City to implement a test ban on motor vehicles in Prospect Park. We supported this notion then, as we do now, because we think it’s a good idea. To be fair to both proponents and opponents of the concept, as well as the agencies that would be responsible for evaluating such a test ban, we also asked that we discuss and develop realistic criteria under which such a test ban would be measured and ultimately evaluated. We hoped to avoid the possibility of going through this exercise only to have different stakeholders draw wildly different conclusions at the end of such a test ban. We had also, at the time, called upon both the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks & Recreation to extend the hours that the park would be closed to vehicular traffic. To their credit we have seen not only a substantial decrease in the number of hours, but also the number of vehicular access points and lane miles that are available to motor vehicles. Since the agencies implemented those changes our streets have not become overburdened or congested from displaced traffic. We believed back in 1998 that our local streets could absorb this traffic without harm. Effectively, this has now been successfully demonstrated. Lastly, we had also called for the City to adopt a “zero tolerance” policy with regard to intruder vehicles and speeders. We asked that all privately-owned and City-owned vehicles not on Prospect Park-related business found in the park be subject to summonsing and escalating enforcement actions. We have repeated requested the use of red light cameras in the park, especially at the 9 th Street signal on the West Drive, where motorists consistently flout the law.

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A letter from Brooklyn's Community Board 6 calling for a test ban on cars in Prospect Park, dated May 22, 2015.

Transcript of Brooklyn Community Board 6 May 2015 Position on Car Free Prospect Park

THE CITY OF NEW YORK COMMUNITY BOARD SIX

Eric Adams Gary G. Reilly Craig Hammerman Borough President Chairperson District Manager

250 Baltic Street Brooklyn, New York 11201-6401 www.BrooklynCB6.org t: (718) 643-3027 f: (718) 624-8410 e: [email protected]

May 22, 2015 Hon. Bill de Blasio Mayor City Hall New York, New York 10007 Dear Mayor de Blasio: One of our residents has recently begun circulating a petition calling for the wholesale removal of motor vehicles from Prospect Park. And while this concept may be new to some people, for us it is a piece of lingering, unfinished business. Brooklyn Community Board 6 adopted a resolution on July 7, 1998 calling for the City to implement a test ban on motor vehicles in Prospect Park. We supported this notion then, as we do now, because we think its a good idea. To be fair to both proponents and opponents of the concept, as well as the agencies that would be responsible for evaluating such a test ban, we also asked that we discuss and develop realistic criteria under which such a test ban would be measured and ultimately evaluated. We hoped to avoid the possibility of going through this exercise only to have different stakeholders draw wildly different conclusions at the end of such a test ban. We had also, at the time, called upon both the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks & Recreation to extend the hours that the park would be closed to vehicular traffic. To their credit we have seen not only a substantial decrease in the number of hours, but also the number of vehicular access points and lane miles that are available to motor vehicles. Since the agencies implemented those changes our streets have not become overburdened or congested from displaced traffic. We believed back in 1998 that our local streets could absorb this traffic without harm. Effectively, this has now been successfully demonstrated. Lastly, we had also called for the City to adopt a zero tolerance policy with regard to intruder vehicles and speeders. We asked that all privately-owned and City-owned vehicles not on Prospect Park-related business found in the park be subject to summonsing and escalating enforcement actions. We have repeated requested the use of red light cameras in the park, especially at the 9th Street signal on the West Drive, where motorists consistently flout the law.
250 Baltic Street Brooklyn, New York 11201 www.brooklyncb6.org telephone: (718) 643-3027 fax: (718) 624-8410 email: [email protected]

We know theres bound to be some residual resistance to the idea of closing the park to motor vehicles. We commend the City for taking the giant steps it has to bring us closer to that goal. It would appear that we are in a fourth and inches situation and that you have a chance to score a big win for pedestrian safety. We would appreciate having the chance to discuss this more with you or your representatives at your earliest convenience and look forward to hearing from you. Lets put this one over the goal line, together. Sincerely, / S / Gary G. Reilly Chairperson cc: Hon. Eric Adams Hon. Brad Lander Hon. James Brennan Hon. Jesse Hamilton Hon. Yvette Clarke Commissioner Polly Trottenberg Sue Donoghue, Prospect Park Administrator, DPR/PPA Boro Comm Keith Bray Captain Frank DiGiacomo, NYPD/78th Precinct Brooklyn Community Boards Michael Ring