News
Updates on the Grand Army Plaza redesign campaign — press roundups, DOT milestones, and what's happening next.
The New York Times Maps Out the Redesign — In Motion
NYT's interactive explainer breaks down what changes for walkers, bikers, bus riders, and drivers — with side-by-side comparisons of the existing plaza vs. the proposed redesign.
The New York Times published a thorough interactive explainer of the redesign, breaking down — mode by mode — what actually changes when you close the road between the Arch and Prospect Park. Side-by-side maps for pedestrians, cyclists, bus riders, and drivers, with the source data straight from NYC DOT. Here are the key comparisons. All graphics: The New York...
Read more →Streetsblog hits the plaza: 'What do NYers want from a Grand Army Plaza redesign?'
Streetsblog dropped a short man-on-street video gathering reactions to the redesign — released the day after DOT's second public workshop. Plus a recap of last week's workshops.
Quick roundup of last week at the plaza: DOT held its second round of public workshops on the Mamdani-backed redesign, and Streetsblog dropped a short video gathering on-the-ground reactions. The video Streetsblog NYC went out to the plaza with a camera and asked New Yorkers what they want — workshop attendees, neighbors, parents pushing strollers across the chaotic crossings. 2...
Read more →Minecraft Grand Army Server Now Open to the Public
A local Brooklyn student built a 1:1 scale Minecraft model of the Grand Army Plaza redesign. The server is live — come explore.
The Grand Army Minecraft server is live and open to anyone. A local Brooklyn student built a 1:1 scale model of the proposed plaza redesign using real NYC geodata — streets from OpenStreetMap, building footprints from NYC Open Data, terrain from USGS. The new pedestrian plaza, market stalls, cafe seating, and planters are all in place where the southern roadway...
Read more →DOT Releases New Design Boards for Grand Army Plaza
NYC DOT published updated design boards showing three plaza concepts, traffic analysis, and a side-by-side comparison of the existing and proposed layouts.
NYC DOT released their latest design boards for the Grand Army Plaza redesign at this week’s public workshops. The boards show the updated plan based on community feedback, three plaza design concepts, and the full traffic and operations analysis. Here are the key boards. Click any image to view full size. Design Updates The plan has been refined based on...
Read more →DOT Workshops Are Underway — Take the Survey by May 31
NYC DOT is hosting public workshops at Grand Army Plaza and on Zoom to gather feedback on the redesign. The official survey closes May 31.
NYC DOT kicked off their public workshop series this week, presenting design details for the Grand Army Plaza redesign and collecting community feedback. The workshops Three sessions — two in-person at the plaza and one virtual: April 23 (4–6pm) — at the plaza, south of the Arch ✅ April 25 (10am–1pm) — at the plaza, south of the Arch April...
Read more →We Did It: Mayor Mamdani Approves the Grand Army Plaza Redesign
After twenty years of advocacy, Mayor Mamdani has backed Option B — connecting the Arch to Prospect Park and creating a pedestrian plaza.
Twenty years of advocacy. Four rounds of community outreach. Thousands of petition signatures. On April 13, 2026, it happened. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a proposal to connect the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Memorial Arch to Prospect Park, eliminating the dangerous stretch of road between them and creating a unified pedestrian plaza. This is Option B — the option 86% of survey...
Read more →"Reimagining Grand Army Plaza" — The Stuyvesant Spectator
A Stuyvesant High School student makes the case for Option B with sharp historical context and a personal connection to the plaza.
Paloma Wilkinson, writing in The Stuyvesant Spectator, makes a clear and well-sourced case for the redesign — starting from the very beginning. “Brooklyn’s Grand Army Plaza used to serve as a spectacular entrance to some of Park Slope’s greatest institutions: Prospect Park, the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, and the Botanic Garden. But today, it is a highway...
Read more →For the full archive of press coverage, quotes, and survey data, see People Love It.