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Mamdani plans to ban cars on part of Grand Army Plaza, connect arch to Prospect Park
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 13, 2026
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Paul Seibert/Back Left Media/New York Road Runners via Getty Images
By
Liam Quigley
Published Apr 13, 2026
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The city transportation department plans to ban cars from the southern edge of Grand Army Plaza in a move that will connect the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch directly to Prospect Park, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday.
The change, which advocates have demanded for years, won’t entirely eliminate traffic from the circle around the arch. But it would ban the direct connection for cars between Union Street and Eastern Parkway, and route that traffic around the northern side of the circle. The plan would convert the roadways looping around the arch from one-way into two-way streets.
There’s currently no set budget or timeline for the plan. Representatives for Mamdani did not say when construction would begin.
The city already plans to move forward with a redesign to add bus lanes and concrete islands to Flatbush Avenue just north of the plaza this year, a monthslong project that officials said will come with major traffic disruptions.
The transportation department under former Mayor Eric Adams in 2022 considered making more parts of Grand Army Plaza car-free by creating a direct pedestrian connection from Prospect Park to Vanderbilt Avenue, where traffic is regularly banned during the summer as part of the city’s “Open Streets” program.
Officials under Adams later advanced two proposals to local community boards — and Mamdani on Monday said he would move ahead with the more ambitious of the two options.
Former Mayor Eric Adams advanced two options to redesign Grand Army Plaza. Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the city will move forward with the one on the right, which aims to cut off direct traffic between Eastern Parkway and Union Street.
NYC Department of Transportation
“Anyone who’s tried to cross here knows how dangerous and chaotic the streets can be,” Mamdani said in a statement. “This redesign is long overdue and will provide a sense of ease and enjoyment to one of Brooklyn’s most important public spaces.”
The redesign would reduce the number of places at Grand Army Plaza where pedestrians and motorists interact from 31 to 20, officials said.
Morgan Monaco, president of the nonprofit Prospect Park Alliance, said she’s looking forward to the expansion of the park’s footprint.
“When you come into the park and you kind of go under the arch, you're transformed into a green oasis,” she said. “This would help bring that sense of calm even further out.”
The transportation department plans to begin holding workshops on the plan later this month. The workshops add to decades of surveys and town halls held by city officials to seek feedback on proposals to redesign Grand Army Plaza.
The announcement marks a plan to return to the original design for Grand Army Plaza, which envisioned the arch as a grand entrance to Prospect Park. The city formally banned car traffic from the park in 2018.
Tagged
brooklyn
new york city
park slope
public safety
transportation
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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