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McGuinness Boulevard is a boulevard in Greenpoint, a neighborhood in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. It runs between Interstate 278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) in the south and the Pulaski Bridge in the north, which connects Greenpoint to Long Island City,

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and Jackson Avenue (NY 25A). South of Driggs Avenue, it is called McGuinness Boulevard South.

History

McGuinness Boulevard was formerly known as Oakland Street, which went from Driggs Avenue to Newtown Creek. The road was widened considerably in 1954 to six lanes, with three lanes in each direction, after the Pulaski Bridge opened, which replaced the Vernon Avenue Bridge to the west. In 1964, it was renamed after former local Democratic alderman Peter McGuinness.

Safety

The boulevard had a reputation as a dangerous roadway, with three pedestrians and one cyclist dying on the boulevard between 2008 and 2013. Having one of the highest fatality rates in Brooklyn, it has been compared to Queens Boulevard,

's "Boulevard of Death". According to one study, at the intersection with Nassau Avenue alone, drivers violated traffic laws almost four times per minute. As a result, the speed limit was lowered in 2014 from to as part of Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

's Vision Zero initiative. In 2014, locals have requested further mitigation infrastructure, including speed cameras and left-turn

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at intersection (road), road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order t ...

s. In 2023, the New York City Department of Transportation announced a redesign of the street. Early plans called for the entire boulevard to be narrowed to one travel lane in each direction; another lane would have been converted into a protected bike lane. The plan was delayed after an aide to mayor

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer who has served as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City P ...

claimed that the plan's only supporters did not live in the community. A compromise proposal was unveiled in August 2023, when the DOT announced that protected bike lanes would still be installed but that the parking lanes would be converted to travel lanes during rush hours. Installation of the bike lanes began shortly afterward. A simplified redesign of the boulevard commenced in August 2024; as part of the redesign, the center lane in each direction became a parking lane during off-peak hours, while the outermost lane became a bike lane.

References

{{Use mdy dates, date=October 2023 Streets in Brooklyn Greenpoint, Brooklyn