NYC moving forward with major Third Avenue redesign in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

Big changes are coming to one of Brooklyn's most dangerous streets.

The city is moving forward with a major redesign of Third Avenue in Sunset Park, which has six lanes of moving traffic, long crosswalks and runs right underneath the elevated Gowanus Expressway.

Seventeen people have been killed along the corridor over the last decade. Among the most recent victims is 28-year-old Jiayi Zheng, a nurse who was killed in a hit-and-run in August while heading home from work.

Now, the city wants to give third avenue a major makeover.

"Beginning next year, the Department of Transportation will heed the years-long calls of this community and redesign more than two miles of Third Avenue," Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Wednesday.

The redesign includes new pedestrian islands and shorter crossings.

"The most notable change is that we're moving the protected bike lane from the curb to the median. This reduces conflicts between cyclists and vehicles," DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said.

For one mother whose 5-year-old son was struck and killed by a driver in Queens 20 years ago, this push for safer streets is personal.

"I don't think any parent should go through the same thing," mother Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio said.

With schools nearby, educators say protecting children is just as important.

"We have little kids every day going back and forth, and you know that this had to be fixed," said David Pretto, community superintendent of New York City Public Schools District 20.

But there's another side to this. The redesign would also mean fewer lanes for drivers on an already busy roadway, bringing them down to just two in both directions.

"There's already a lot of traffic as it is, so I feel like it's just going to make everything worse," one person said.

The city plans to begin work between 62nd and 43rd streets in 2027, with the remaining stretch up to 20th Street scheduled for 2028.

The city is also planning a new protected bike lane on 60th Street, connecting cyclists to Fourth Avenue and the Brooklyn waterfront.

The big test will be whether all these changes make this busy corridor safer for everyone.