Businesses Say DOT’s Traffic Plan Is Killing Them

Businesses up and down Sheepshead Bay Road are reporting that DOT’s new traffic plan, which converted part of the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare into a one-way and moved the B36 bus stop to Avenue Z, has caused a huge slowdown in their sales.

Roy Muhammad, the manager of the corner store directly beneath the Sheepshead Bay subway station, said sales have been nearly slashed in half since the project rolled out last month. A big part of their business, he explained, came from commuters waiting for a bus transfer outside the store.

“This business mostly depends on train and bus connections. People would stop in and buy something,” he explained. “Now, people are rushing across the street because they don’t want to miss the bus.”

The DOT and MTA have come under fire for doing little to consult with the community before upending traffic on one of the neighborhood’s main roads. The community board voted it down last year, but the city revived the proposal, part of the Mayor’s Vision Zero campaign, largely in response to a pedestrian being struck an killed by a B36 bus at East 17th Street at Avenue Z.

The new traffic plan, which also blocks vehicles from turning down East 15th Street and Jerome Slip, has had a noticeable effect on traffic outside the subway station. On Sunday afternoon, cars clogged Sheepshead Bay Road below Jerome Avenue, where the one-way ends, while the section of roadway impacted by the changes felt like the main street of a sleepy county town.

The owner of Bay Pizzeria, which last month won our poll on the best pizza in the neighborhood, said the lost traffic is hurting his business.

“The whole street is quiet now,” he said.

Like other store owners, he explained the bus stop outside the subway station was an important source of revenue.

“That B36 stop helped a lot. People would run in and grab a slice while they were waiting for the bus,” he explained. “Since it’s not there, that revenue is not coming in any more.”

City Councilman Chaim Deutsch said several businesses around the subway station reported a drop in profits after DOT implemented the traffic plan. He has spoken to DOT, as well as other agencies like the Department of Small Business Services, to try and find a solution.

“City agencies work for the people. When they make changes, they have to look at the effects in the area,” he said. “We can make sure there is all-around safety, but with a feasible plan that doesn’t drive stakeholders out of business.”

Kerry Wu, who owns the clothing shop across from the train station, said she chose the storefront because of its proximity to the subway and bus stop. Her business has slowed by 50 percent, she said, because commuters no longer drop in to purchase scarves, clothes, and handbags between transfers.

“I understand this [change] is about safety, but for business it is very bad,” she said. “People just don’t come this way anymore.”

Like many neighbors, Wu said she was surprised when DOT scattered orange traffic cones in the street and transformed the area into a Times Square-style pedestrian plaza.

“They should have at least consulted us,” she said.

Deutsch said he’s sent some suggestions to DOT that could at least improve vehicle traffic in the area. He noted motorists traveling west on Avenue Z can’t turn left onto Sheepshead Bay Road. Instead, they have to head north on East 13th Street, go around on Avenue Y, and then turn down East 14th Street. Deutsch said he would like to see East 15th Street opened up to southbound traffic to make it easier for drivers to pull up to the train station.

“The plan has to make sense,” he said. “DOT needs to take the community’s complaints into consideration. This can’t just be something that’s shoved down our throats.”

Yagiz Kilic, from Yooberry, was the only business owner we spoke with who had not seen a slump in business due to the new traffic configuration.

“We will see in the long run, we’re just entering the busy season,” he said. “But 90 percent of our customers are locals so I don’t see it having a big impact.”

Kilic noted that the new corner store, which opened last month at the intersection with East 15th Street, had benefited his business.

“Since these guys opened, there have been no more homeless hanging around at the corner. When you do more with the area, it’s always a good thing,” he said.