Fort Greene and Clinton Hill are about to straighten out their bow-ties.
Four long-neglected triangle parks along Fulton Street between Lafayette and Putnam Avenues could be transformed into pedestrian havens, under a plan advocated by the Fulton Area Business Alliance.
“What we want to do is take these under-utilized spaces and put them to better use for the community,” said Phillip Kellogg, director of the Alliance.
The work will include $400,000 worth of sidewalk and pedestrian crossing renovations at Cuyler-Gore Park and Gates Triangle Park, which would reduce the distance pedestrians, have to walk between each curb.
The Alliance proposal for a plaza around Fowler Square has already been selected for funding by the city.
And the most down-and-out of them all, Putnam Triangle, could be turned into a plaza as early as this summer, an idea that is stirring up mixed emotions in the community.
“It’s a great idea,” said Luke McDermott, owner of the bar Fulton Grand. “A majority of the people in this area would love something like that.”
But resident Terry Wolfers, who lives across the street from the triangle, doesn’t agree.
“I’m just afraid that with these changes, a bad crowd maybe more inclined to hang around at night,” said Wolfers.
To address this concern, chairs may be chained in place and the square may be off-limits at night, Kellogg said.
