Bushwick's Hope Gardens Gets Shiny New Sidewalks

BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — Bushwick's public housing project Hope Gardens officially has over 23,000 square feet of newly repaired sidewalks that were previously old, crumbling, and potentially unsafe. Monday morning marked the NYC Department of Transportation's official unveiling of the sidewalks along with Assembly Member Martiza Davila and New York Public Housing Authority (NYCHA).

Hope Gardens is part of the Department of Transportation's promise last year to triple the budget going toward sidewalk repairs this year. This year, the city has repaired sidewalks on 13 housing complexes owned by the city, including the Melrose Houses in the Bronx, Vladeck Houses in Manhattan, South Jamaica Houses in Queens, and Tompkins Houses in Brooklyn.

"I would like to thank Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Transportation for answering the community's request to repair sidewalks in our Public Housing Development, Hope Gardens," said Assembly Member Davila.

"Thanks to the City’s increased investment for sidewalk repairs at NYCHA developments, the residents of Hope Gardens now have the newly paved walkways they deserve," said NYCHA General Manager Michael Kelly.

Hope Gardens made the local news earlier this year with its trash problem. People were dumping old electronics, mattresses, and piles of trash in an empty lot in the housing complex, and it was attracting rats the size of cats, residents said. NYCHA took the trash away, but soon after, more trash was back.

Here are some before and after photos of the new sidewalks:

Photo credit: DOT