🚌 Construction is Finally Removed at the Franklin & Fulton Bus Stop

🌟 Author’s Note

Hello and welcome to the 1 new subscriber of the Better Block Project, bringing our group to 123 members 💪 

Yesterday, in the 35 degree weather ❄️ , several members of the Better Block Project gathered to take some action and clean up Fulton Street ourselves 🧹 . With rakes and our trash pickers of choice, we covered Fulton Street from Classon to Bedford and all of the neighboring streets in between.

Huge thank you to everyone who came out to do their part. We picked up all sorts of things including coffee cups, cigarette buts, liquor bottles, a headless broom stick and countless plastic bags. By the end of our work, the street looked in the best condition I had seen it in years, thanks to everyone chipping in and building upon the clean up the Bed Stuy BID also does on the weekends.

I also want to shout out Antonio Whitaker and Marissa Yanni from DSNY, who made organizing this clean up so easy. We set it up using the Sanitation Foundation’s online portal, which gives you free supplies to do the clean up. All I had to do was submit the form and then head to the Sanitation garage in the morning to pick up bags, gloves and brooms. If you want to join another clean up, or conduct a clean up with your block, here is how you can do it on the Sanitation Foundation’s website. I definitely recommend it!

🚌 Construction is Finally Removed at the Bus Stop

After nearly 5 months of advocacy, the 🏗️ construction placed in front of the bus stop on Franklin and Fulton has finally been removed 🥳 The bus stop is now back to its original design, and it was amazing to see busses back in the area and the bus stop in the best shape it has been in months.

The difference the removal of construction storage has made is palpable. Where there was once piles of trash and individuals drinking, is now replaced by a fully clean street and everyone at the bus stop was there to do was the space was meant for: wait for and ride the bus! It’s strong evidence that structural changes to how an urban environment is set up are what can truly make a lasting difference. If you recall, back in the summer when we first started writing about this there was construction set up blocking the entirety of the bus stop, which created a haven for illicit activity to occur. As part of this was removed a few months ago, some of the activity died down but the issue still festered. Now, with it completely gone, the space is back to being much more useable.

We see the same dynamic with the new development on Spencer and Fulton. When scaffolding covered the space, it was a target for recurring trash. However, now that the building is done and the scaffolding is removed, the sidewalk is dramatically cleaner than it was before. The opposite is the case at 1105 Fulton. Scaffolding that has been left up for almost 1 year has led to consistent trash in the area. There is a lot of activity in New York City government about how to better manage the seemingly never-ending scaffolding that decorates our sidewalks. This bill signed earlier this year, as a part of the Get Sheds Down initiative, reduces sidewalk shed permits from 1 year to 3 months. It’s a step in the right direction, but more can be done to ensure all construction doesn’t fester in New York. The truth is, the construction in front of the bus stop should have never been there, but as we wrote about a few months ago, the MTA was allowed to circumvent a DOT permitting requirement.

I don’t expect this construction removal to fully solve the issue on the corner. Illicit activity was still an issue on this corner before that construction was ever there. However, it’s clear this was a meaningful step forward and I’m grateful the MTA took the step to remove it. I am also grateful to everyone who helped write and advocate for the letter to the MTA to motivate this including the Franklin Brevoort Block Association, Lefferts Place Block Association, Chi Osse’s office, Phara Souffrant Forrest’s office, the Bed Stuy BID and many others. Special shout out to Isis, Chris, Flo and others who put in a lot of work to help get this done. It’s not over yet. We still have 3 remaining asks of the MTA to get the bus stop into the condition we want:

1. ✅ Remove the construction in front of the bus stop

2. Add permanent lighting to the bus stop

3. Remove the seating closest to Fulton

4. Add security until this area is consistently safe

I plan to follow up with the City Council’s office this coming week to check on the status of the remaining asks in our letter. We’re not going to stop until this bus stop is truly safe, regardless of the time of day.

Thanks again to all those who came out to the trash clean up yesterday. It is always energizing to spend time with folks who care about improving our neighborhood, and make some new friends. If you like what we’re doing here at the Better Block Project, forward this to someone else you know who wants to do more work in the community!

See you next week,

David