Flatbush Streets for People

@flatbushstreetsforpeople.com

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Neighbors working towards safer streets and better buses in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, & Kensington. Supported by @transalt.org Brooklyn.

An image titled "Garden Party," featuring an image of activists holding up a "Flatbush Deserves Better Buses" sign and other signs. Below it is this text: "Join us at Wyckoff House Museum on Saturday, July 18 from 10:00am-1:00pm for a fun Summer mix of bus rider organizing and good ol’ fashioned volunteering! "We’ll be hosting an open discussion about our ongoing organizing for a fast, reliable, affordable, and accessible bus service and then volunteering at the Wyckoff House Community Garden. Food and drinks will be provided. Hope to see you there!" The logos of the Wyckoff House Museum and Riders Alliance aer below it.
A paragraph of text reading, "Faster, more reliable buses will deliver greater opportunities for all New Yorkers who rely on the bus. With dedicated bus infrastructure, riders spend less time waiting for or traveling on a bus, and more time reaching opportunities that enhance their lives." Below is a photo captioned "The B103 stuck in traffic on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn," taken about a block north of the Applebee's and Target at Flatbush Junction.
A table of commute mode by demographic characteristic. 75% of people of color take the bus, 62% take the subway, and 52% take a personal vehicle. 55% of women take the bus, 54% take the subway, and 41% take a personal vehicle. For households with <$100,000 income, 76% of them take the bus, 58% take the subway, and 44% take a personal vehicle. The chart is sourced to the MTA Customers Count Survey Fall 2025.
Screenshot of a page of text: Future Milestones Joint City and State Commitments • Study, plan, and implement major bus priority improvements on 50 Priority Corridors across the five boroughs to: • Increase bus speeds by 20% on priority corridors. • Reduce bus rider delay at bus stops to less than two minutes beyond the scheduled wait time. • By 2030: • Implement a new, world-class rapid bus route on Flatbush Avenue. • Expand the bus stop accessibility program to upgrade at least 65 bus stops per year. DOT/City Commitments • By 2027, install 200 new stationary cameras. • By 2028, install 300 new bus shelters. • By 2030: • Install 125 queue jump signals. • Activate or improve transit signal priority along 175 corridors. • Install 2,900 new real time passenger information signs (RTPI). • By 2035, • Achieve universal bus stop seating. • Inspect all bus stops for street trees, planting as many trees as possible. MTA Commitments • By 2027, implement all-door boarding with complete transition to tap and ride. • Procure approximately 2,500 new buses as part of the 2025-2029 Capital Plan, replacing aging vehicles. • Monitor and update service to leverage infrastructure enhancements.
A map of central Brooklyn showing highlighted planned improvements on Flatbush Ave, Church Ave, Utica Ave, Kings Highway, a segment of Avenue J in Midwood, and Bay Parkway.
Screenshot of text: "04. Kensington-JFK, Brooklyn-Queens: Later in 2026, NYC DOT and MTA will launch visioning engagement for new rapid bus options along Church Avenue, Linden Boulevard, New Lots Avenue, and Conduit Avenue connecting to JFK Airport."
Screenshot of a drawing of a street with two bus lanes and one general travel lane, with the text: "Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn: Building upon the 2026 center-running bus lane project between Livingston Street and Grand Army Plaza, NYC DOT and MTA will deliver new rapid bus service along the full length of the Flatbush Avenue corridor by 2030. In 2026, both agencies will engage with community members in Central Brooklyn to identify neighborhood mobility needs."
A map of central and south Brooklyn showing highlighted planned improvements on the entire length of Flatbush Ave, on Church Ave through all of Flatbush and East Flatbush, and on Utica Ave up to Kings Highway, as well as a few other planned improvements on Ave J and Kings Highway. A block of text is next to it, titled "Central Brooklyn Bus Planning," which reads: NYC DOT and MTA will study bus priority and complete street improvements on three critical, high-ridership, and Vision Zero corridors in Central Brooklyn: Church Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, and Utica Avenue. Together, these three corridors serve over 150,000 bus riders on 13 bus routes each day. NYC DOT and MTA will begin project coordination and community engagement on these corridors in 2026.
Screenshot of a report with a drawing of a street with two bus lanes and one general travel lane, with the text: "Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn: Building upon the 2026 center-running bus lane project between Livingston Street and Grand Army Plaza, NYC DOT and MTA will deliver new rapid bus service along the full length of the Flatbush Avenue corridor by 2030. In 2026, both agencies will engage with community members in Central Brooklyn to identify neighborhood mobility needs."
A photo of an adult on a bicycle, a child on a bicycle, and a child on a kick-scooter crossing Cortelyou Road using the painted bike lane.
A flyer from Riders Alliance for a Flatbush Avenue Community Meeting at Crown Heights Library, 560 New York Ave, Tuesday, March 3, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM. There's a photo of a large crowd at a rally last year in front of a "Flatbush Deserves Better Buses" banner.
Screenshot of NYT article: Mr. Mamdani is also expected to announce that the city will build a bike lane network through the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Midwood, Flatbush and East Flatbush, and add protected lanes to Dorchester and Cortelyou Roads in Ditmas Park, and along Brooklyn and Kingston Avenues, also in Brooklyn. “These projects will improve the quality of life for so many New Yorkers — but until today many were stalled because of politics,” said Mike Flynn, the city’s new transportation commissioner, in a statement. “This is just the beginning.”
Community Board Social Hour 6-8 PM Feb 3 Bad Therapy Bar, 1008 Cortelyou Road Mingle with current and aspring CB members and learn how they shape your neighborhood. RSVP openplans.org/events Co-hosted by Open Plans, Flatbush Streets for People, New Yorkers for Parks, and Bad Therapy.
The title slide of an NYC DOT presentation "McDonald Ave Two-Way Protected Bike Lane, Presentation to Brooklyn Community Board 7, June 10, 2025," with a large photo of the intersection of 20th St/10th Av/McDonald Ave just after the existing protected bike lane ends.
A map of the bike network in Windsor Terrace between Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park, showing the existing protected lanes on McDonald Ave north of 10th Ave and on Ft Hamilton Pkwy, and the proposed lane on McDonald Ave connecting the two.
A group of cyclists outside the Flatbush branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, many holding signs saying "Flatbush Streets for People."
A painted bike lane next to the Citi Bike dock at Rugby Road and Albemarle Road.
A slide titled "Proposed Intersection Improvements - Hardened Daylighting at High Crash Locations." A map shows eight intersections in the neighborhood, and a diagram shows concrete barriers, flexible posts, and small speed bumps at a large intersection. (The full slide is in the PDF linked above.)
A slide titled "Proposed Protected bike Lanes - Cortelyou Rd and Dorchester Rd," with images showing an eastbound protected lane on Cortelyou from Coney Island Ave (the west of the district) to Flatbush Ave, and a corresponding westbound protected lane on Dorchester a block south. Both replace a previous plan for unprotected lanes, and connect to unprotected lanes to the east. The slide reads: • Protected bike lanes create a better bicycling environment for all-ages and all-abilities • Installing protected bike lanes has a 34% reduction in risk of injury • Requires some trade-offs
A title slide reading "Brooklyn Community Board 14," "Bike Network Expansion - Update," "June 11, 2025," with a DOT logo and a photo of someone biking eastbound on Cortelyou past double-parked cars.
A photo of the intersection of Rugby Road and Cortelyou Road.
A close-up view / selfie of the Flatbush Streets for People and Flatbush Food Co-op tables outside of the store.
Another photo of the tables outside the grocery store, where a person wearing a bicycle helmet is engaged in conversation.
In front of a grocery store are three tables, each of which has flyers and people talking to passersby. The middle table has Flatbush Streets for People.
A poster for Sustainable Sunday, April 27 2025, 10am - 2pm (Free!) - electronic waste recycling & paper shredding. Flatbush Food Co-op, 1415 Cortelyou Rd Brooklyn 11226. Accepting working and non-working: computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, cables, TVs (all sizes), VCR & DVD players, phones, audio/visual equipment, video games, & cell phones. PLUS - Learn about local sustainability & safety efforts with 350Brooklyn, Flatbush Streets for People, and South Midwood Pollinators!
An old color postcard captioned "Cycle Path on Ocean Boulevard, BROOKLYN." The image shows horse-drawn carriage on the main road and a couple of bicyclists on the bike path, and several fully-grown trees. Image is from https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2019/07/15/the-earlier-name-for-brooklyns-ocean-parkway/ which identifies it as from 1905.
A BM4 bus at twilight on Beverly Road.
Panoramic photo of the inscription near the entrance to the Central Library: "The Brooklyn Public Library, through the joining of municipal enterprise and private generosity, offers to all the people perpetual and free access to the knowledge and the thought of all the ages."
Screenshot of the first paragraph of the letter. "November 22, 2024 Dear Mayor Eric Adams, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez and NYCT President Demetrius Crichlow, On November 10, dozens of neighbors from across Flatbush, Councilmember Rita Joseph’s team and representatives of local community organizations came together to walk along our streets and discuss the needs we have seen for street safety. Despite the varied perspectives and backgrounds of the people on the walk, two things were clear: there is a substantial need to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists, and all users of our streets, and we have each been disappointed with the lack of priority and action from the city."
Flatbush Walk & Talk attendees pose for a photo in front of the Flatbush Food Co-op's mural.
Walk & Talk attendees gathered in front of Cortelyou Road.
Artmageddon Collective organizers Robert, Chloe, and Taylor speak in front of a crowd gathered at a Victorian home in Flatbush.
A video showcasing various scenes from streets around Flatbush, including cars and bicycles squeezing by double-parked vehicles, parents with strollers trying to cross busy streets, people with grocery carts dodging turning traffic, riders sitting in a stopped bus, etc. Text over the video says: Flatbush, Brooklyn Our neighborhood streets are unsafe, and area buses are slow and unreliable. That's why we need to: protect people who walk, protect people who bike, move buses quickly and efficiently, designate dedicated delivery space. Join our neighborhood campaign! FlatbushStreetsForPeople.com
Jolyse asks the crowd a question next to the Flatbush Food Co-op's mural. A bus is in the background on Cortelyou.
A crowd gathers on the sidewalk outside Flatbush Food Coop. On the side of the building is a mural of houses in the neighborhood.
Leah from Flatbush Food Co-op addresses a crowd adjacent to the co-op.
A crowd of people listening to a speaker at Newkirk Plaza, an outdoor mall overlooking a below-ground train station.
The era of ignoring central Brooklyn, of ignoring the south and east sides of Prospect Park, has to be over. And it's more critical than ever for New York to serve as an example of what safe, convenient, and equitable streets look like. So thank you all. I really appreciate this - APPLAUSE.
But needless to say, we're a long way from these goals. Instead we have a DOT that really isn't even meeting what it's already required to do under the law. That includes things like the long-delayed completion of projects like the protected bike lane along the east side of Prospect Park which was approved 5 years ago and safety improvements around Park Circle which were approved at the beginning of the Council Member's first term. Now we work closely with DOT and take them on walkthroughs of places where crashes and things like that happen on a regular basis. There are some really solid people who work at DOT, but I want to say they're working under some pretty difficult circumstances right now. And I think especially with our new backward-looking, anti-transit president that's coming into office, we're going to need our community's support more than ever to make sure that DOT here in New York delivers on their promise.
I'm Brian Grady, the Constituent Services Director for Council Member Rita Joseph. Our district starts just on the other side of the street so we're going to be covering some of our paths in a bit. I wanted to start by thanking Flatbush Streets for People for convening this. I think today is very important. The Council Member wished she could be here. I know what a deeply personal sort of matter road safety is for the Council Member. She was an educator here in Brooklyn for 20 years. She actually lost a couple of students to traffic violence, a very important issue for her since she took office in '22. The Council Member's championed the need for bike and public transit improvements in Flatbush and across the city, including by introducing a bill that would require DOT to build 100 miles of protected bike lanes every year. She's been vocal in her support for a dedicated bus lane along Flatbush Avenue, which would improve bus speeds in our district - now some of the slowest in the city.
A large group of people listening to a speaker in Newkirk Plaza, a pedestrian mall overlooking an open-cut subway station below, behind a fence.
A large group of people on a sidewalk by a store in a residential neighborhood on a somewhat cold day, standing in a loose circle listening to a speaker.
Jolyse Race from Riders Alliance addresses a couple dozen people standing in a circle on the sidewalk by the intersection of Flatbush Ave and Cortelyou Rd, a commercial district with residences on upper floors.
A group of people assembled at an intersection on Dorchester Rd, a tree-lined residential street that is wide, unlaned, and has no stop signs for several blocks. In the foreground, a woman holds up a red octogonal sign saying "This intersection needs a STOP sign. Fix Dorchester .com"
A large group of people having a discussion on a sidewalk at a commercial intersection in Brooklyn.
A large group of people outside a home in Victorian Flatbush watching someone show a presentation and some paperwork of 311 complaints.