June 15, 2017 By Christian Murray
After being subject to fierce criticism, the Department of Transportation has decided to install an all-way stop sign at the intersection of 51st Avenue and 5th Street.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said that the all-way stop sign will be installed next week and that he and Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan will be holding a celebratory press conference tomorrow at the intersection with students from Hunters Point Community Middle School at 2:30 pm.
Van Bramer, who held a press conference at the intersection in January calling on the DOT to install the signs, said that he and the community have been demanding this for years.
The DOT’s decision to install the all-way stop sign comes just two weeks after DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg notified Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan that the agency had studied the intersection and deemed it not busy enough to warrant signs. Trottenberg said that slow zones would be added to certain streets around the school instead.
Van Bramer said that he talked to Trottenberg earlier this week and that the agency reviewed its decision and decided one was in fact needed.
Van Bramer said that there has been a lot of pressure placed on the DOT for the all-way stop sign. For instance, Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked about it at his town hall meeting in Long Island City last month, a petition was put together earlier this year signed by 500 residents and then there have been press conferences.
“This is great news,” Van Bramer said, adding that it is something the community has demanded for some time.
