Delancey Street is about to get a whole lot safer.
On Feb. 6, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Department of Transportation, local advocates and representatives came together to announce over $20 million in grant funds for street safety improvements on one of the city’s most dangerous intersections.
Safety has been a concern for years on Delancey Street. The strip leading up to the Williamsburg Bridge has been the sight of over 200 crashes over the last decade.
“If you look at it right now, you still see trucks -- a street that's unsafe to walk in and we finally got what we’ve been asking for,” says Council Member Christopher Marte.
Traffic safety advocates and local businesses say these funds are critical.
“We have over 250 seniors that come a day to our day care program…so this is gonna keep the families safe….Seniors walk with their walkers and canes and have to be extra careful not to fall,” says business owner Willing Chin Ma.
Manhattan Organizer for Transportation Alternatives Anna Melendez has been concerned about the stretch of street for years. “Delancey Street is in the top 10% of most dangerous intersections, this is a long overdue investment we’ve been asking for.”
Funding is secured, but a timeline for the redesign of Delancey Street has yet to be announced.