Changing Traffic Direction for the Convenience of the Luxury Condo Buyers

Sept. 23, 2015 — How times change. Seasoned New Yorkers who remember the Red Hook of old will likely recall it was crowned in 1990 by Life magazine as one of the ten worst neighborhoods in the United States. But it has gone from being the crack capital of the world to the latest gentrified neighborhood boasting luxury condo development. Of course, you've got to give the mega rich an incentive to buy. And what better way to entice them than by offering convenient access to the shiny posh condos, even if it means changing the direction to sections of Verona and Commerce streets. According to DNAinfo, the city presented the proposal late last week as a means to "ease traffic congestion and make it easier for future residents of upscale condos to get to their homes." Must be nice, eh? Having the direction of traffic on a couple of streets changed for your convenience? According to the article, "the Department of Transportation is seeking to convert Commerce Street between Imlay and Van Brunt streets into a one-way eastbound street. The one-block stretch is currently a two-way street. The proposal would also change the direction of an underused section Verona Street between Imlay and Van Brunt streets. Traffic on the block currently flows eastbound from Imlay to Van Brunt streets, but the conversion would make it westbound." While anyone in or passing through that area would obviously benefit from this measure, the ones who stand to gain the most are the people who eventually occupy the massive upscale condos at 160 Imlay Street, site of the former New York Dock Building. The proposal was unanimously approved by the transportation committee and will be presented to the CB6 general board for a final vote October 14.

Rendering of the residential development at the the former New York Dock building by AA Studio