Downtown Brooklyn's Fall Street Work Is Redrawing the Curbs Its Last Projects Couldn't Keep Clear

On Livingston Street, the block between Smith Street and Boerum Place sits in front of New York City Transit headquarters. A red curbside bus lane has run along it since the busway went in. In its presentation on the next phase, the city's Department of Transportation described what happens on that red paint: "Westbound Livingston Street right turn onto Boerum Place has heavy turning volumes, and placard abuse within the right turn bay/bus lane, creates bus delays."

DOT's answer is to move the lane. That choice runs through nearly every street project scheduled for Downtown Brooklyn this fall. Most of the work goes back to bus and bike infrastructure the neighborhood already has and changes the geometry wherever cars kept taking the curb. Whether each change shows up before winter depends on a calendar that is running short.

The Block in Front of Transit Headquarters

The Livingston Street busway opened in 2024 between Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. Phase 2 extends it one block west to Boerum Place. As Streetsblog NYC reported on September 22, the westbound bus lane will leave the north curb and become an offset lane with a right turn at Boerum Place. Parking moves from the south curb to the north curb, and an eastbound bus lane takes over the old south-side parking.

The two lanes will keep different hours. The westbound offset lane will be active 24/7. The eastbound curb lane will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, which a DOT spokesperson said fits the traffic patterns and the buses that use that block.

Farther east, DOT plans to remove the painted median between Gallatin Place and Hoyt Street. That widens the eastbound bus lane so MTA buses can get around the school buses and Access-A-Ride vehicles that pull up outside the Helen Keller Services office.

The same package reaches around the corner to Joralemon Street. With the MTA's accessibility work at the Borough Hall station almost finished and its construction staging leaving the area, DOT plans a wide 24/7 bus lane on the north curb between Boerum Place and Court Street. That block carries about 50 buses an hour at rush hour. The slip lane from Joralemon onto Court Street is coming out as well.

A new two-way protected bike lane on Livingston between Court Street and Boerum Place rounds out the plan. It links to the Boerum Place and Adams Street lane and sets up a future extension of the Court Street bike lane north of Schermerhorn Street. DOT said it would release details of that extension in the coming months.

Jay Street Gets Concrete Where Paint Kept Failing

Jay Street shows the same approach, with concrete instead of paint. In early October, Streetsblog NYC and BK Reader reported that DOT had started building two bus boarding islands on the busway.

1. Just north of MetroTech Service Road. A concrete island replaces a painted no-parking area that had been decorated with planters. Buses will let riders off here at the last stop of the B54, and the island adds protection for cyclists along the curb.
2. Slightly farther north. A second island gives bus drivers a place to park during layovers. Today they use a curbside cutover in front of the Brooklyn Commons plaza, and that cutover is frequently blocked by illegally parked vehicles.

With the layover moved onto the island, cyclists can ride along the curb next to Brooklyn Commons and no longer cross paths with buses pulling in. DOT spokesperson Mona Bruno described the timing to Streetsblog:

"DOT is taking advantage of scheduled street resurfacing to improve the bus-riding and biking experience on Jay Street. As we deliver a smooth new roadbed, we'll be installing bus boarding islands to eliminate the mixing of buses and bikes at these two locations, reducing bus service delays and improving safety for everyone."

The Adams Street and Boerum Place bike lane uses repaving the same way. DOT's Current Projects page says the two-way lane, a direct link to and from the Brooklyn Bridge, will follow fall 2026 repaving. In Streetsblog's September 21 coverage, Council Member Lincoln Restler pointed to the Adams Street design as one that removes the spots where illegal parking has routinely happened.

The Gap That Already Closed

Ashland Place is the one fall project already in use. DOT began work on August 12 to make the block between Lafayette Avenue and Hanson Place one-way for cars and add a two-way protected bike lane. By September 21, Streetsblog reported that the missing block was finished and paired with a protected lane on Lafayette that connects to the Schermerhorn Street lane.

Like the other projects, it fixes existing infrastructure. One short block had kept the Ashland lane from linking to the rest of the network.

The next piece of that corner is Hanson Place, planned as a shared street between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street. DOT's June 4 presentation described the design as still being finalized and coordinated with nearby projects.

Flatbush Shows What Geometry Can and Can't Do

Flatbush Avenue is the one large new build in the group. It brings center-running bus lanes from Livingston Street to Grand Army Plaza, along with about 29,000 square feet of new pedestrian space. The Brooklyn Eagle reported that construction would resume in late April. In its April 28 release, DOT said work would continue into fall 2026. Its April briefing targeted "Late Fall 2026" for the bus lanes to open. When finished, the lanes connect to the Livingston Street busway.

The stakes are clear from the baseline. According to that DOT briefing, about 69,000 riders on six MTA routes use the northern stretch of Flatbush each day, and buses there move as slowly as 4 mph.

Part of the corridor is already working. Columbia News Service reported on November 2 on a new center-running stop between Atlantic and Fourth avenues, across from the old Times Plaza Control House. Southbound B41 and B67 riders there now board from concrete islands in the middle of the street. A rider who has used Flatbush transit for more than 20 years told the outlet, "It's much better with this redesign."

The same report found dollar vans repeatedly pulling into the bus-only center lane to pick up passengers on two afternoons. At that stop, the concrete keeps riders out of traffic, yet other vehicles still pull into the bus lane.

Flatbush is also the first of five rapid-bus corridors the mayor has said are projected for completion by 2030. They are part of the $882 million city-state initiative "Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service."

The Clock on All of It

Paint needs warm weather. A Streetsblog NYC article on November 9 noted that the city's striping season usually runs from about May until October. It added that a warmer-than-normal winter from this year's strong El Niño could leave more time than usual. Former DOT official Jon Orcutt told the outlet, "Striping season used to end around now, but I've been riding around in a T-shirt all week."

Here is where each project stands, based on the most recent public description of each:

Where the Curb Fight Goes Next

The longer plan points to the same kinds of fixes. A September study by the Regional Plan Association, commissioned by Restler and covered by Streetsblog, named Jay Street "a major impediment to the pedestrian environment." It called the segment between Fulton and Tillary streets especially chaotic and urged the city to address illegal parking before the Brooklyn Borough-Based Jail is finished in 2029. The study also counted 13 subway lines, the LIRR and the B41 bus, which together put 2.3 million riders within 30 minutes of Downtown Brooklyn.

After the Jay Street islands were announced, Restler told Streetsblog he hopes to extend those safety improvements along Jay from Livingston Street to Willoughby Street. The Court Street bike lane extension north of Schermerhorn, which the new Livingston lane is meant to set up, is the next design DOT has said it will release.

Street changes like these shape a block's daily rhythm, from how fast the bus runs to where deliveries can stop and which corner turns into a bike route. Those details matter when you weigh one building against another. If you're considering a move within Downtown Brooklyn or nearby, The Holt Team can walk you through how this fall's work affects the specific blocks you're comparing. Request a Consultation.