Assemblymember Hikind Speaks To The Powers That Be Regarding The Ocean Parkway Changes

Assemblymember Dov Hikind is not messing around in his attempt to stop the traffic changes to Ocean Parkway.

He had a meeting yesterday with the NYS Department of Transportation (NYS DOT), an official from the city DOT (NYC DOT), a representative from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office and several other pols to air his grievances about what is happening with Ocean Parkway.

Hikind’s main concern with the plans is the prohibition of right turns on the key intersections of Avenues C, J, P and Kings Highway. The local electeds who stood with Hikind are City Council members Chaim Deutsch and Mark Treyger, Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz, and Senator Simcha Felder.

“The whole premise of the Ocean Parkway Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety project is to improve safety, and it’s very hard to imagine a safer Ocean Parkway with these changes being implemented,” said Hikind. “There is no justification based on the statistics provided by the NYS DOT that warrant the elimination of right turns onto Avenues C, J, P and Kings Highway.”

Hikind discredited the DOT stats regarding accidents on Ocean Parkway that drove them to implement these new rules.

Over a two-year span, there were 10 accidents on Avenue J and Ocean Parkway, which is where a rally was held a week ago to protest the new rules. In the same timeline, only two accidents were recorded on Avenue P and Kings Highway, according to the DOT statistics.

The argument against the changes to the turning rules on Ocean Parkway is that it would direct traffic to the service roads, clogging them and potentially blocking service and emergency vehicles from getting through.

Hikind was optimistic after the meeting that the NYS DOT reconsider their plans for Ocean Parkway. He also spoke with Mayor Bill de Blasio about the issue and de Blasio assured him that he would look closely at the issue, according to a tweet from Hikind.