Redesign will transform 2.1 miles of one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets, with protected bike lanes, shorter crossings and safer intersections
Project will address a corridor where 17 people have been killed over the past decade, including nurse Jiayi Zheng
Rendering of one section of the Third Avenue redesign from 36th Street to 54th Street.
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.
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