Bed-Stuy Gateway and the Fulton-Nostrand Revitalization Project

Brooklyn Record: $4.5 Million Makeover For Fulton Street

We've been so busy organizing the Bed-Stuy Gateway Family Fun Fest! that we really haven't had a chance to do much posting on the Internets lately. But we just came across this little article on the Brooklyn Record regarding the construction that's been going on on Fulton Street in Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy.

Fulton Street, from Clinton Avenue to Bedford Avenue sure is undergoing some major reconstruction work. Representatives from the NYC Dept. of Design and Construction attended the May and June Fulton-Nostrand United Merchants Association meetings, in which they indicated that the current project, between Clinton Avenue and Bedford Avenue is slated for 18 months of work beginning in July 2006. After that project is done in late 2007, the DDC Reps said that they believe that work will begin on Fulton Street east of Bedford Ave. Hooray for street improvements! So it appears that Keyspan and ConEd are relocating their utilities up and down Fulton Street in anticipation of major reconstruction work in the near future.

Link: Brooklyn Record: $4.5 Million Makeover For Fulton Street.

Update: Why is Fulton Street in the Dark?

Back in October, a couple of street lights on Fulton Street in the vicinity of Verona Street and New York Avenue were still not working after two years of darkness.  A week ago, the two remaining non-working street lights were finally turned on and as of November 16, 2005, all of the streetlights on Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue in the business district now shine brightly. 

At left is a photo of a ConEdison worker hooking up the light pole to the electricity.

Link: Bed-Stuy Gateway: Why is Fulton Street in the Dark?.

Why is Fulton Street in the Dark?

For the past two years, businesses and residents located on the block of Fulton Street between Nostrand Avenue and New York Avenue have been kept in the dark, literally, by a lack of coordination between the Department of Transportation and Con Edison. 

Three years ago, Councilmember Al Vann secured funding to replace the standard issue "cobra head" light poles with the historic style "M-poles" that now grace Fulton Street.  Most of the light poles work and they look very nice.

On this particular block of Fulton Street however, three lightpoles in a row had failed to emit any kind of illumination since they were installed more than three years ago, keeping this stretch of the street blanketed in total darkness.  One of the poles finally got fixed in June, but the two neighboring poles still don't work to this day despite the numerous 311 calls, pleas for action from the Councilman's Office, Community Board #3, the Merchant's Association, the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit, local businesses on the block, practically everyone under the Bed-Stuy sun.  DOT and Con Edison,  can we just finally get these light poles working and not keep Fulton Street in the dark any longer?