A good community thrives when its mass transit system is running smoothly for everyone. While the vehicles carry people all over the city, the place where all the connections are made can decide what’s a smooth ride and where the first bumps will form. Broadway Junction as a subway line sits at the border of East New York, Brooklyn and the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods, near the intersections of Van Sinderen Avenue, Broadway, and Fulton Street. 

The line also shares space with the elevated BMT Jamaica and BMT Canarsie Lines, as well as the underground IND Fulton Street Line, the Long Island Rail Road, and six bus routes. 

Virtually every corner of the metropolitan area connects via subway, bus, or regional rail, and it sees an average of over 100,000 passengers every weekday. The number of commuters could be greater, and the wide range of access that Broadway Junction Station offers can only get better. After calls from Brooklyn officials to give the area some proper attention, the City of New York has released plans to make that happen. 

What Are Some Major Features of the Current City Plan?

One of the major issues with the 25-acre area as it stands is that while all these transit services are available, they’re largely divided, as is the infrastructure that keeps them running. This makes it a less-than-appealing place to begin to introduce services and businesses to the area in the increasingly popular mixed-use style. The City’s current intention is to introduce structural changes to solve this problem, including: 

• Making all lines at Broadway Junction fully accessible for all commuters. 
• Redesigning the streets surrounding the area to make Broadway Junction Station a “true hub.”
• Improving the safety of the Jamaica Avenue, Georgia Avenue, and Fulton Street intersection with the use of multiple “circulation improvements,” new “traffic-calming” measures, and signals and signs. 
• Introducing new and permanent fair reductions for LIRR Atlantic Branch city trips.

The city is also seeking measures that include the surrounding community and ensures that the development benefits local residents and businesses, not just commuters. These measures include additional job training, increasing legal protections to already existing businesses and tenants, and increasing opportunities for minority enterprises. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the city’s full plans, which also seek to address neighborhood amenities, open public spaces, and more. 

Are There Any Steps Remaining Before Ground is Broken?

The plan represents the combined efforts of multiple area leaders and community boards as well as the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. At present, the city’s main focus is to take the current plans and see them evolve with constant consultation between Council Member Raphael Espinal and Brooklyn Borough President Erin Adams, as well as local public agencies and stakeholders. 

They continue to absorb feedback from local residents and business owners, making this development a fully collaborative effort. For now, they must develop a strategy for how to best implement this plan, and the first steps in construction will have to follow that. 

This endeavor will pull together tradespeople and architects to introduce multiple new retail spaces, dining, streetscapes, and new signage. New parking is needed while current options are improved, as well as more friendly open spaces for pedestrians, and other infrastructure improvements. There is also a great deal of emphasis on structuring this project so it does not affect current traffic flow or business operation, promising a long and well-paying project for those tradespeople that have a hand in completing it.