Shorter crossings, protected bike lanes coming to Sunset Park's Third Avenue
The plan includes pedestrian islands, redesigned intersections and barrier-protected bike lanes in both directions along the center median.
More Stories
Crossing Third Avenue in Sunset Park can mean walking about half a football field. Now, after years of calls from neighbors and safety advocates, the city plans to make that trip safer.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn announced Wednesday a redesign of 2.1 miles of the avenue, from 62nd to 20th streets. The plan includes pedestrian islands, redesigned intersections and barrier-protected bike lanes in both directions along the center median.
The city says 17 people have died along the corridor over the past decade.
Before outlining the changes at a news conference, Mamdani read some of the names of people killed on the avenue.
“Too many New Yorkers know someone who never made it home,” he said.
Among those killed was Jiayi Zheng, a 28-year-old nurse struck by a hit-and-run driver near 55th Street in August.
Her death brought renewed demands for action. Transportation Alternatives urged the city to fast-track a redesign first proposed in 2023. News 12 also followed Families for Safe Streets as the group called for solutions.
For Fabiola Mendietta Cuapio, a Sunset Park parent and co-chair of the group’s executive committee, the advocacy is personal. She said her son Brian died in a crash 20 years ago this week.
“No child should have to cross eight lanes of dangerous traffic just to get to school,” she said at the news conference.
What would change?
Third Avenue is about 150 feet wide. New pedestrian islands, sidewalk extensions and median extensions would cut the distance people must cross through moving traffic by up to half, according to the Department of Transportation.
The city says similar redesigns have reduced traffic deaths and serious injuries by 30%.
Flynn said the proposal reflects years of community feedback. One key change from earlier concepts is moving the protected bike lanes away from the curb and into the center median.
That placement would reduce conflicts between cyclists and vehicles pulling over or making deliveries, he said.
“We look forward to refining our proposal with the community before we begin implementing next year,” Flynn said.
The project also includes a two-way, parking-protected bike lane on 60th Street between Second and Fourth avenues. DOT says it would improve safety near two schools and connect Fourth Avenue’s protected bike lanes with the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway on Second Avenue.
When would work begin?
The city plans to complete the redesign in two phases:
2027:
Work begins on Third Avenue between 62nd and 43rd streets, along with the 60th Street bike connection.
2028:
Work continues on Third Avenue between 43rd and 20th streets.
