We Did It: Mayor Mamdani Approves the Grand Army Plaza Redesign
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 respondents chose, and the one the community has pushed for since GAPCO formed in 2006.
“Grand Army Plaza is the gateway to Brooklyn’s backyard, Prospect Park — and it should welcome New Yorkers with street design that puts safety first. Anyone who’s tried to cross here knows how dangerous and chaotic the streets can be.” — Mayor Zohran Mamdani
What the redesign does
- Adds three-quarters of an acre of new public space (a 42% expansion)
- Cuts pedestrian crossings from 39 to 24
- Upgrades bike lanes with protected, connected infrastructure
- Speeds up the B41 bus — Brooklyn’s busiest, with 27,300 daily riders — by reducing congestion through the plaza
- Closes the road between the Arch and Prospect Park, reconnecting them as Olmsted and Vaux intended
Coverage
The announcement made front-page news across New York media:
- Can This Chaotic Brooklyn Plaza Be Car-Free? Mamdani Says Yes. — The New York Times
- Mamdani Embraces 20-Year-Old Plan to Connect Grand Army Plaza to Prospect Park — Streetsblog NYC
- NYC unveils Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza redesign — CBS New York (video)
- A Pedestrian-Friendly Grand Army Plaza? — WNYC / The Brian Lehrer Show
- New Yorkers Warm to Mamdani’s Redesign Plan — The New York Times (follow-up)
Why this time is different
DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn was part of the original Grand Army Plaza Coalition in 2006, when a handful of neighbors first started pushing for change. Now he runs the agency that will build it.
“Every time NYC DOT has provided more space to pedestrians at the park, it’s been an instant success, and it becomes impossible to think of how the space could have functioned before.” — DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn
Streetsblog founding editor Aaron Naparstek, another GAPCO original:
“This would have been our dream 20 years ago. It’s kind of cool. It’s hard for me not to see it as anything other than kind of amazing that it’s happening.”
And Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Ben Furnas:
“We’re ecstatic that New York City will be connecting Grand Army Plaza’s arch to the rest of Prospect Park. This is a major step forward for everyone who visits Brooklyn’s backyard, and a restoration of Olmsted’s original vision for his favorite park.”
The numbers
Between 2020 and 2025, there were 219 traffic injuries on the plaza’s roadways. In 1955, a publication called it “the only concrete and asphalt roulette wheel in the world.” Seventy years later, not much had changed — until now.
88% of workshop attendees in 2022 backed major redesign. 86% of 1,624 survey respondents in 2024 chose Option B. Public comments ran 15:1 in favor.
What happens next
DOT is hosting public workshops and the official survey is open through May 31. This is the design phase — feedback now shapes what actually gets built.