THE CITY OF NEW YORK

COMMUNITY BOARD SIX

Eric Adams
Borough President

Gary G. Reilly
Chairperson

Craig Hammerman
District Manager

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 11201-6401 www.BrooklynCB6.org

t: (718) 643-3027 f: (718) 624-8410 e: info@BrooklynCB6.org

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

250 Baltic Street Brooklyn, New York 11201 www.brooklyncb6.org

telephone: (718) 643-3027 fax: (718) 624-8410 email: info@brooklyncb6.org