Overview
- The order stops the 31st Street project from 36th Avenue to Newtown Avenue and requires the roadway be restored, giving DOT 30 days to remove the partially built segment between 31st Avenue and Broadway.
- Justice Chereé Buggs found DOT failed to meet mandatory certification and consultation requirements with the Department of Small Business Services and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, and did not adequately resolve concerns from St. Demetrios School.
- The ruling cites FDNY warnings that the redesign would hinder operations and emergency response, including ladder access under the elevated tracks, while noting the court found no concrete rebuttal from DOT.
- City officials say the Law Department is reviewing the decision as DOT evaluates next steps, with observers calling the move a rare break from courts’ usual deference to the agency on street designs.
- Local businesses and Council Member Joann Ariola praised the decision and urged alternatives such as parallel-route lanes or lower speeds, as Transportation Alternatives and other advocates condemned the ruling and pointed to Vision Zero data showing two deaths and nearly 200 injuries on the corridor in recent years.