CBS2 Demanding Answers: New Traffic Barriers Ripped Out For West Indian Day Parade
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In what amounts to a $40,000 boondoggle, the city Department of Transportation has been forced to rip out new Eastern Parkway traffic islands in Crown Heights, Brooklyn to make way for the West Indian Day Parade.
CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer was demanding answers Friday.
Bright yellow zebra stripes now camouflage spots at the intersections of Eastern Parkway with Kingston and Brooklyn avenues, where the city Department of Transportation just removed two brand new pedestrian islands. They did so to make the road wide enough for West Indian Day parade floats to pass by.
The pedestrian islands cost taxpayers $40,000 to install just a few months ago.
"It's a waste of money," said one man named Clyde. "I don't think it makes sense."
"It's just wasting our money, which could have gone to feeding the hungry or some other profitable thing," said Sandra Wharton of Crown Heights.
The $40,000 could have been used for nearly 23,000 school lunches, 507 days in a homeless shelter, or 175 classroom iPads.
"It shows you who we have to elect to run our business," Wharton said. "We have to be more considerate about the people who we pick to take care of our money."
Residents said the islands were installed to protect pedestrians. Four have been hurt in crashes at the two intersections just so far this year.
"The barriers are a necessity for crossing the street," said Chaim Pil of Crown Heights. "If you don't have the barriers, you're stuck in the middle of the street. Because the light over here is made is a certain way, you get stuck in the middle very, very often."
The barriers were set up to provide protection from buses, trucks and cars for people stuck on the sidewalk. But now they're gone.
CBS2's Kramer demanded answers from Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.
Kramer: "It's not like people didn't know the West Indian Day Parade was going by there, so why were they put there in the first place?"
Trottenberg: "At the time that we put them in, there really weren't a lot of concerns raised. I regret it very much."
City officials insisted the traffic islands will be replaced. They do not know with what, but they do know the barriers will be removable.
Since Mayor Bill de Blasio took office, the city has put in more than 200 traffic safety projects and the 200 pedestrian islands as part of the Vision Zero program to cut down on traffic deaths and injuries.