East New York Gets a New Public Plaza, But Residents Worry About Being Priced Out

City officials are moving ahead with a major overhaul to Broadway Junction that has some East New York locals voicing fears they could be priced out of their neighborhood.

Last week, the city’s Economic Development Corporation opened bidding for a contract that aims to raze an NYPD transit precinct and install a pedestrian plaza filled with public seating outside the intersection’s busy transit station. Broadway Junction connects five subway lines and sits near a Long Island Rail Road stop. The project is the latest step in a $500 million program to add more green space to the industrial area and boost the economy in a neighborhood where roughly a quarter of residents live at or below the poverty line.

The new investments are anchored by a new Human Resources Administration building, which broke ground across the street from the Broadway Junction station in 2022 and is scheduled to open this year. The MTA also plans to renovate the subway station to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The community has drastically changed with the building,” Woodard said of the new Human Resources Administration facility. “I’m thinking gentrification is coming. It won’t be as much of a need for us and our outreach, but we will still be here to help the less fortunate and those who need us.”

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Woodard has volunteered at the church for 15 years, but it could be razed due to a four-block rezoning plan proposed in 2023 that calls for the construction of a new tower on its lot.

“In the future it could be more buildings, more stores, more commercial,” Carlos Ante, 45, said as he repaired a garbage truck next to the church. “It could make it grow. But at the moment there is nothing like that. It is half abandoned.”

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The incoming public realm developments, which aim to bring upgraded parks and basketball courts to Broadway Junction, will stand in stark contrast to the current state of the area’s infrastructure. Glistening streams of motor oil still flow freely from parking lots across the street from the station, and the area’s sidewalks are scarred with holes. On a recent morning, a tow truck idled for more than half an hour on the sidewalk as people walked in and out of the station.

“ It’s a very mixed and diverse neighborhood,” Benicia De La Cruz said inside the subway station.

De La Cruz said she’d welcome an improved plaza and the MTA’s planned accessibility upgrades at the station. But she called for a safer connection to the nearby East New York LIRR station, which she said is “practically inaccessible for some of us in the neighborhood.”

Councilmember Sandy Nurse, who represents the area, said it’s long been neglected by city agencies.

“The idea of these public plazas is nice and we want more open space,” she said. “When it comes to Broadway Junction, there’s a long list of outstanding needs that the city has not prioritized.”

Economic Development Corporation spokesperson Julia Zita said in a statement the agency is committed to investing in the future of the transit hub and the broader community.

“Last month, NYCEDC closed a [request for proposals] for the design of streetscape improvements along Van Sinderen Avenue and Broadway to improve safety and the commuter experience around the station complex,” Zita said in a statement.

East New York Community Land Trust president Boris Santos argued the developments should come with long-term financial commitments and safeguards for renters and homeowners who might see their rent or property taxes spike.

“With public investment also comes real estate opportunities, or change in real estate. Yes it’s long overdue, yes we need the right kinds of design and plazas and maintenance of those plazas,” he said. “How do we use funding not only to maintain and sustain what we’re putting in, but helping our neighbors stay put as well?”

There’s still a long road ahead for the redevelopment: The NYPD precinct at Broadway Junction isn’t scheduled to be demolished until 2028, and the work on the pedestrian plaza isn’t slated to finish until after 2030.

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