Greenfield, Treyger & Felder Call For Immediate Repairs To Ocean Parkway

Councilmembers David Greenfield and Mark Treyger, and Senator Simcha Felder are demanding that Ocean Parkway be repaired by the Department of Transportation (DOT) immediately.

Last month, the councilmen and the senator each wrote letters to the agency urging that the road be fixed promptly. Pols say the DOT assured them that the road will be repaired by 2017, but insist that the timeline is not sufficient, calling for repairs to begin immediately.

Ocean Parkway, which is shared by all three representatives, stretches from Church Avenue to Avenue Z, is among the most heavily trafficked in the borough.

“The condition of Ocean Parkway is horrendous. I have received numerous calls and complaints to my office about huge potholes, crumbling pavement and the general terrible condition of this roads. We cannot wait any longer for the Ocean Parkway to be fixed,” said Greenfield.

Treyger echoed Greenfield’s sentiment, noting the safety risks potholes and cracks pose to drivers.

“The current state of Ocean Parkway is absolutely unacceptable and must be addressed now on behalf of thousands of residents who rely on this main thoroughfare each day,” said Treyger. “This has clearly become a legitimate safety issue that is putting drivers at risk due to the potholes and broken pavement along the entire stretch of Ocean Parkway.”

In May, Greenfield and Treyger urged Mayor Bill de Blasio to reconsider his plan to change the speed limit on Ocean Parkway from 30 MPH to 25 MPH, arguing that the move would create additional congestion on the main street and direct more traffic onto side streets. Ocean Parkway was included in the city’s speed limit drop to 25 MPH — affecting all streets in the five boroughs, with an exception of highways and some “big streets” — as part of the mayor’s Vision Zero initiative.

At the time, the DOT defended the newly enforced speed limit on Ocean Parkway citing the street’s history of vehicle-related injuries and fatalities:

Ocean Parkway saw 64 pedestrians killed or severely injured (KSI) between 2009-2013, including eight pedestrian fatalities. The pedestrian KSI rate for Ocean Parkway was 13.2 per mile over that five-year period. By comparison, the more notorious Queens Boulevard, where DOT recently lowered the speed limit to 25 mph, had a pedestrian KSI per mile of 7.3 over the same five-year period.