A Pedestrian Plaza for Outer Brooklyn

"'It used to be, you'd come off the subway, everybody would pile up on the curb, if you were lucky, you would catch the stop sign, if not, well, just hope there were no cars coming,'

Essentially, the department took an A-shaped intersection and turn it into a V-shaped one. In addition to creating more space for pedestrians, buses are no longer jackknifing around Ashford Avenue, a particular impediment to traffic, according to Mr. Wiley-Schwartz. He said there was some slight opposition from drivers when the plaza was first proposed, but it has since abated after the plaza's construction.

In a phone interview, Walter Campbell, district manager for the local community board, agreed that the project has been almost universally applauded."