Rendering of one section of the Third Avenue redesign from 36th Street to 54th Street | Images via Press Office/City Hall
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
By Press Office/NYC
NEW YORK – Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today unveiled plans to redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue in Brooklyn, making it safer to cross, reducing speeding and reckless driving and creating protected space for cyclists.
The redesign will overhaul one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets, where 17 people have died over the past decade. Those deaths include nurse Jiayi Zheng, who was killed in a hit-and-run in August.
“We know what keeps New Yorkers safe on our streets: calmer intersections, shorter crossings, protected bike lanes and ambitious redesigns that put people first,” said Mayor Mamdani. “17 people have lost their lives along this corridor in a decade. That cannot continue. Starting next year, we will transform Third Avenue to protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. And across this city, we will redesign our most dangerous streets over the next three years. Preventable traffic deaths are not inevitable, and we will not accept them as the price of getting around our city.”
“Too many New Yorkers have lost their lives simply trying to navigate Brooklyn’s Third Avenue. After years of delays, this administration will complete a comprehensive redesign of one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “This administration is being proactive with street safety. As we announced in our new Vision Zero action plan, we will ensure all of the city’s most dangerous streets will receive safety improvements over the next three years because we cannot wait for the next tragedy to strike.”
Starting in 2027, NYC DOT will redesign 2.1 miles of Third Avenue, from 62nd Street to 20th Street, with new pedestrian islands, redesigned intersections and barrier-protected bike lanes in both directions along the center median. Similar redesigns have been shown to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries among all road users by 30%.
Third Avenue is currently 150 feet wide and, along much of the corridor, has six moving lanes, two parking lanes and a 52-foot-wide center median. Pedestrians must cross the equivalent of half of a football field just to get from one side of the avenue to the other.
The proposed redesign will use the new pedestrian islands and sidewalk and median extensions to cut the distance people must travel across moving traffic by up to half.
NYC DOT will also install a two-way, parking-protected bike lane on 60th Street between Second and Fourth avenues. The project will improve safety near two schools and connect Fourth Avenue’s protected bike lanes and the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway on Second Avenue.
The redesign will be delivered in phases:
>> 2027: Work will begin on Third Avenue between 62nd and 43rd streets and on 60th Street between Second Avenue and Fourth Avenue.
>> 2028: NYC DOT will redesign Third Avenue between 43rd and 20th streets.
The City will explore future phases extending the redesign to Third Avenue between 62nd and 65th streets and north of Prospect Avenue to Carroll Street in Gowanus. NYC DOT will also redesign Third Avenue’s medians to establish safer, more orderly vehicle parking with metered spaces.
The redesign builds on Mayor Mamdani’s release last month of Vision Zero Reimagined, a 10-year blueprint for street safety. The comprehensive, citywide plan commits to complete safety treatments on all untreated Vision Zero priority corridors — the city’s most dangerous streets — over the next three years, alongside more than 100 additional policies to prevent traffic deaths and serious injuries and unlock the full potential of New York City’s streets.
“Today, we’re finally responding to the pleas of Sunset Park neighbors who have suffered through year after year of preventable tragedies on Third Avenue,” said State Senator Andrew Gounardes. “You don’t have to be a traffic engineer to know this street is dangerous — you just have to try to walk across it. But crossing the street shouldn’t mean putting your life at risk. Now, we’re taking action to make Third Avenue truly safe for everyone who uses it, no matter how they get around. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani and NYCDOT for this crucial work.”
“Third Avenue has been a source of tremendous fear and grief for our community over recent years. This responsive plan will be a major step towards improving street safety in Sunset Park,” said Council Member Alexa AvilĂ©s. “The redesign will start at the most problematic portion of the Avenue, ensuring that local students and families will be able to cross the street with ease of mind. I am excited to see this full project come to fruition and grateful to the Mayor and those at the Department of Transportation for prioritizing the needs of our community.”
“Third Avenue is an important part of our community, with schools, healthcare facilities, local businesses and families who rely on this corridor every day,” said Cynthia Felix-Jeffers, Chair, Brooklyn Community Board 7. “Making it safer is about protecting our children, our neighbors and everyone who walks, works and travels along this avenue. We appreciate Mayor Mamdani, our elected officials and City agency partners for listening to our community, valuing our concerns and working alongside us toward safer streets for everyone. Brooklyn Community Board 7 will continue working alongside our neighbors and city agency partners to advocate for improvements that make Third Avenue safer for everyone who calls our community home.”
“We couldn’t be happier that Third Avenue in Sunset Park will finally be safe,” said Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio, Executive Co-Chair of Families for Safe Streets New York. “This is a significant milestone for everyone who lives here or works here or just travels through the neighborhood. We want to thank the Mamdani administration for listening to the community, especially all of the Sunset Park schools, who came out and repeatedly demanded better. Lives will be saved because of this redesign.”
“Third Avenue has been deadly for generations, and that’s finally going to change,” said Ben Furnas, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “This is an ambitious and thoughtful redesign only made possible by community voices demanding safety, a DOT willing to step up to a challenge and make a real transformation and elected officials fighting alongside us each step of the way. These safer pedestrian crossings and bike connections will revolutionize a deadly corridor into a neighborhood street where everyone feels safe walking, pushing a stroller or biking along Third Avenue.”
“Jiayi Zheng’s loss was a terrible tragedy for her family and our community. We are grateful to the Mayor and the Department of Transportation for prioritizing the redesign of the Third Avenue corridor,” said Bret J. Rudy, MD, Executive Vice President and Anne N. Chenault Chief of Hospital Operations at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn. “The safety of our patients, staff, visitors and all who live and work in this neighborhood is of paramount importance. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the city and community to advance meaningful safety improvements.”
“The human toll of traffic crashes along 3rd Avenue has been devastating, and the city’s commitment to a safety-focused redesign in very welcome news,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC. “3rd Avenue has been the textbook definition of a traffic sewer, and we look forward to a future in which safety of vulnerable users is first and foremost on the avenue.”
🏛️
Zabaloon - Digital Library
Content archived in:
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
| Content language: English |
| Filed under category: New York City |
Search for other topics using the
2015 | Zabaloon ©
Zabaloon is a global platform with the largest database of websites, links and image catalog in general.
Zabaloon is a global digital library featuring news from New York City (NY, USA) and the world. New York State News.
