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…
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]
What exactly needs to be done to Court St. that would cost 11 million dollars??? And why is this a spending priority? Mystifying.
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.
Why does everything have to be the next Smith Street. Can’t every shopping/restaurant strip have it’s own feel.
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.
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….
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.
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.
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.
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.