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October 15, 2007
Will Court Street Be the Next Smith Street?
Last week, CB6 voted to make the reconstruction of Court Street the board’s number one priority in their fiscal year ’09 capital budget requests for the second year in a row. But why’s it so important, and what’s it going to involve? The project covers things like repairing the sidewalks and curbs from Atlantic to Hamilton avenues, and it’s supposed to mirror the recent reconstruction of Smith Street, which is partially credited with turning Smith into the retail powerhouse it is today. The city’s earmarked $11 million for the revamp and said it’ll begin work in 2011. (And it’s almost certainly not going to happen any quicker: Councilman David Yassky said last week that the DOT doesn’t expect to have initial designs for the project for another three years.) Given that these plans are going to be cooking for so long, what do you think the DOT should focus on with the reconstruction? Think it makes sense to expect a Smith Street-like renaissance?
CB6 Budget: The Big 10 [Brownstoner]
CB 6 Manager Expounds on Local Boards [Brooklyn Eagle]
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Comments
they should focus on the southern end of court street, which is going to some sort of revival after Frankie's opened
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 10:57 AM
A Cortelyou Rd approach with cobblestone accents, shepards crook lights, benches, trees, and a clock or two would be very appropriate.
Posted by: LM at October 15, 2007 11:15 AM
Court St. and Smith St. have a great balance. I live between the two and find myself shopping/eating on Court more than Smith. Court St. is a little more grown-up and still has *some* of the old neighborhood flavor. I think having another Smith St. would be a negative overall.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 11:19 AM
i do luvs me some court street.
when is someone going to pay some attention to 7th avenue in park slope, is what i want to know? particularly the area from about flatbush to 1st street. it needs some help.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 11:20 AM
I honestly don't get this as a priority. Could someone please point out what is supposed to be so dire about the condition of Court Street? I recall they repaved recently (at least near Degraw/Sackett area). I can't see anything infrastructure-wise that is affecting the businesses there negatively. It is just a wee bit less hectic than Smith. There's a nice variety of local business with some more recent chains in the mix. Smith/9th subway is falling apart! That should be #1.
Posted by: Carol Gardens at October 15, 2007 11:40 AM
I agree with 11:40. Please prioritize the nasty conditions of Smith & 9, 4th Ave, and 7th Ave stops on the F trains, and the 9th Street stop on the R.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 11:50 AM
I agree with above posters. There is nothing seriously wrong with Court Street as it is, and I don't see why it's high on the CB6 priority list. There are more pressing issues that need attention now (i.e., the Smith-9th St station). Also, we don't need more of what's on Smith Street. Enough is enough. The mix of businesses on Court is very good, although we seriously could use a supermarket in CG. The former Blockbuster space would be an ideal location.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 11:56 AM
I bet it is a political thing with pressure from the neighborhood's power figures.
I think they should shut off access to Hamilton Ave Southbound to cut off all of the people trying to bypass the BQE south. People just race down Court Street. Most don't stop but are on their ways somewhere else.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 12:36 PM
Yeah what is wrong with court street? I always viewed court street as cobble hills 7th avenue and smith as its 5th. Ditto to the above posters who recommend using the money to fix smith/9th and 4th ave. 4th avenue used to be a beautiful stop! It should would be nice if they restored those windows....
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 12:38 PM
I totally agree with the above posters. I have no idea why court street needs to be reconstructed. Shows how completely out of touch the Community Board is with the community.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 12:41 PM
Why does everything have to be the next Smith Street. Can't every shopping/restaurant strip have it's own feel.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 12:44 PM
The comparison of the old pre-revival Smith St. to current Court St. is not appropriate. Smith Street's roadway and sidewalks were in much worse condition than anything currently on Court.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 1:00 PM
What exactly needs to be done to Court St. that would cost 11 million dollars??? And why is this a spending priority? Mystifying.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 1:05 PM
12:36, Keep dreaming. It is a public street that my tax dollars help to maintain. I have the right to go through Court street from Hamilton avenue without stopping anytime I choose.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 1:16 PM
How about people who race down Hicks street north bound trying to bypass the BQE traffic. That is without question an accident waiting to happen. All it would take would be to change the timing on traffic lights so cars could not go over 15-20 mph without hitting another traffic light. Such a simple thing to fix and certainly safety is a higher priority than the reconstruction of court street.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 1:33 PM
why does it take THREE YEARS to come up with the plans? surely you can go to school and graduate from a town planning degree in that amount of time?
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 1:39 PM
Court street is cool. Having it like smith street would be a disaster. What are they smoking?
If this is just a fancy name for improving the state of the pavement and curb, then, whatever, get on with it. But if you want smith street on court street, get lost! what a nightmare! are the restaurants on smith street full? most, no. So keep them there, and keep court street for the people who live in the area.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 2:13 PM
1.33, so the answer would be to have the cars race from red light to red light? No one is going to drive 15 mph on Hicks.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 3:12 PM
The one thing they should do is to make them both 2-way. As the flap on DOT's stupid idea on trying to make 6th-7th Ave one way proved, no one likes one way streets. They promote faster traffic and make for a bad street experience (unless you want fast throughput.)
The first thing CB6 should do is to petition for this. But with that backward-looking Traffic Commissioner in charge (who actually lives in CH, I think) and whose idea it was to make 6- one way and actually thinks one way streets are "safer," it's a hard slog.
Posted by: cmu at October 15, 2007 5:05 PM
smith street a retail powerhouse?? how many restaurants and stores last longer then 6 months?? does anybody buy the overpriced stuff there?? there is a total disconnect between rents to the reality that stores do not really do well there. i for one if opening a business would probably choose court over smith.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 8:50 PM
Love the idea of putting more trees and fixing the overall apperance of court st.
Posted by: guest at October 15, 2007 8:52 PM
Plenty of businesses do well on Smith and have been there for years: Patois, Tabac, Smith and Vine, Saul, Grocery, Area, Red Rose, Vinny's, Zaytoons, etc. I do wonder, however, about the many new pricey clothing boutiques on both Smith and Court.
Posted by: Carol Gardens at October 15, 2007 10:45 PM
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