Sunset Park residents rally over concerns about DOT’s Chinatown conversion plan

Back in June, the group filed a lawsuit against DOT saying the city hasn’t done enough community outreach on the project.

News 12 Staff

Aug 26, 2021, 11:57 PM

Updated 1,246 days ago

Share:

A group of Sunset Park residents rallied outside of Department of Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman’s home in Dumbo Thursday to voice their concerns about plans to convert two of the busiest streets into one-ways. 
They say the plan for Seventh and Eighth avenues will just lead to even more congestion and further impact already struggling businesses. 
The group held up signs that said “Our Voices Matter.”
The plan would make the streets between 66th Street and 39th Street a one-way in the commercial area of Sunset Park’s Chinatown. 
"By taking away so much space from Seventh and Eighth avenue basically that would leave only one travel lane. Whenever there's double parking they definitely will be holding up all the traffic. A couple of other proposals include taking away almost 200 parking spots for the area when the business community is really suffering,” said organizer Paul Mak. 
Back in June, the group filed a lawsuit against DOT saying the city hasn’t done enough community outreach on the project. 
The lawsuit halted DOT’s plans for three months through the beginning of October. They say if Gutman doesn’t respond to their concerns about the conversion plan, they’re going to be outside until their voices are heard.