Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
De Blasio Will Back Redesign Of McGuinness Boulevard After Greenpoint Teacher’s Death
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 27, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 27, 2021
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
McGuinness Boulevard, where Matthew Jensen (inset) was killed last week
Mayor Bill de Blasio will back a redesign of Greenpoint's notoriously treacherous McGuinness Boulevard after a local public school teacher was killed by a driver while crossing the roadway last week.
De Blasio, who's vowed to jumpstart his Vision Zero initiative after a surge in pedestrian deaths this year, plans to announce his support for a redesign at a rally on Thursday afternoon. In recent days, local parents and safe streets advocates have called on the mayor to eliminate a lane of traffic in each direction, widen sidewalks, and install a protected bike lane on the boulevard.
A mayoral spokesperson said the city would engage the community and study the roadway before announcing the details of their plan.
McGuinness, a five-lane arterial roadway that splits Greenpoint in two, has long been a source of contention for local residents. After it was listed among the city's most dangerous corridors for pedestrians and cyclists in 2010, the city pledged to retime traffic signals and step up enforcement — but never followed through, according to the area's elected officials.
“It hasn’t really gotten better in 10 years," Councilman Steve Levin told Gothamist last week. "It remains a problem.” Southbound vehicles speeding toward the entrance of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway have posed a particularly dangerous issue, Levin said.
In the last five years, 29 pedestrians and 21 cyclists have been injured on McGuinness, and one cyclist lost his life.
The latest fatality on the boulevard came last Tuesday. Matthew Jensen, who'd just turned 58, was crossing McGuinness after leaving a birthday party at his cousin's house when he was killed by a driver in a Rolls Royce. The driver left the scene and has not been arrested.
Jensen taught English at P.S. 110, and was described by parents as a "ray of sunshine." Many of the school's teachers, parents, and students are behind the push to redesign McGuinness.
This story will be updated as more details become available.
Tagged
greenpoint
traffic deaths
mcguiness boulevard
brooklyn
vision zero
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .