‘Kids Over Cars.’ Greenpoint parents push for safer street plan outside PS 110
The school’s PTA is pushing to turn Monitor Street into a public plaza, prioritizing pedestrian safety and reducing traffic congestion.
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Members of the P.S. 110 PTA in Greenpoint are calling for a safer, more community-friendly environment outside their children's school.
The school’s PTA is pushing to turn Monitor Street into a public plaza, prioritizing pedestrian safety and reducing traffic congestion.
The city’s Department of Transportation has already daylighted and hardened the corners of the intersection following the death of a cyclist in 2023.
Parents say the street is a hub for illegal truck traffic coming of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway despite signs banning them. They say it happens often during the same rush hours as school pick-up and drop-off.
The project would connect the street outside the school to the walkable space of McGorlick Park.
"This is a public space. There is a public school and a public park," said parent Michael Lombardo. "Bringing those two things together to make it an area where the community can be and navigate safely just makes perfect sense."
Chris Roberti, a member of the PTA’s Safe Streets Committee, recalled a moment of chaos when an angry truck driver trapped in traffic entered the school, demanding to speak to the owner of a blocking vehicle.
The DOT told News 12 that it is considering additional safety options, but only the school itself can request an open street plan. News 12 contacted the school for comment, but officials referred the matter back to the DOT.
Parents hope their momentum will push the redesign forward.
"It was inspiring to think about what could be done—that we don’t have to accept the status quo," said parent Aaron Kreiswerth. "We can improve the environment not just for kids, but for everybody."
