Big Bucks for Jazzing Up 'Outdated' Fulton Mall
As part of a $40 million investment in the Downtown Brooklyn streetscape, the city’s Economic Development Corp. will pony up $15 million to spruce up the Fulton Street Mall. “You’ll have a great new open space a la Herald Square at 34th Street in Manhattan, and an overhaul of the Fulton Mall’s physical environment,” said…
As part of a $40 million investment in the Downtown Brooklyn streetscape, the city’s Economic Development Corp. will pony up $15 million to spruce up the Fulton Street Mall. “You’ll have a great new open space a la Herald Square at 34th Street in Manhattan, and an overhaul of the Fulton Mall’s physical environment,” said Joseph Chan, president of the city’s Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. The effort will include new bus shelters, benches and street furniture as well as the addition of new lights and trees. Another $3 million to $4 million will be out towards creating a 10,000-square-foot green space at the former Albee Square mall that could double as a place for public performances. Work is expected to begin a year from now. Even sooner, the greening of Downtown Brooklyn will also extend to two “gateway to Brooklyn” planting projects on Flatbush Avenue and Boerum Place.
$15 Mil for ‘Herald Square in Bklyn’ [NY Post]
Improve the subway entrance @ Jay Street.
The place needs shade. More Trees! And get rid of those two dopey looking welded metal entrance archways.
Can we have Prada, Gucci and perhaps Tiffany’s?
I think Fulton mall could use a little improvement. It is ugly and tacky.
I don’t understand all these negative comments. The City is investing millions of dollars in downtown Brooklyn and this is somehow a bad thing? I don’t care if you’re black or white – everyone can still agree that despite the large number of shoppers at the fulton mall, it’s not a visually appealing place. We’re talking about new bus shelters, street lights, trees and benches here people. You people wouldn’t recognize a positive development if it bit you in the ass. And while the shopping area around Herald Square might not be the best, I think what Joe Chan was talking about was the actual square, which is a very pleasant public space in an otherwise claustrophibic area of the City.
Fulton mall may be busy but it is still a dump. At night, it is deserted. If people are going to utilize the upper floors of the buildings or create a mixed use neighborhood, the streetscape needs to change.
While the retail rents per sq ft might be high, I wonder if building rents are high if all the unused sq ftage is considered. I suspect this area is not the booming success it is made out to be using only the retail rent stats.
I wish EDC would mandate better service at Macy’s.
This area will be Miss Brooklyn’s (read Bruce Ratner’s) front yard. It’s going to have to measure up to the luxury prices and fully gentrified AY complex. Let the cultural destruction begin!
out of the frying pan into the fire? further the manhattanization!
Herald Square is certainly an improvement to what currently exist….