Artist’s rendering of the redesign of Morrison Plaza. Image Credit: NYC DDC
The upgrade is scheduled to be completed in winter 2021. On October 30, 2020, the NYC Department of Transportation, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the NYC Department of Design and Construction announced the beginning of a $9 million project to expand and beautify Morrison Avenue Plaza located at the southeast corner of Morrison Avenue and Westchester Avenue in the Soundview neighborhood in the Bronx.
In 2013, the Morrison Avenue Plaza was accepted into the NYC Department of Transportation’s Plaza Program and currently the Plaza is managed by Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, a youth center active in the Bronx River and Soundview neighborhoods in the South Bronx. The plaza is also a part of the OneNYC Plaza Equity Program and receives subsidized sanitation and maintenance services in partnership with the Horticultural Society of New York and ACE New York.
Currently, the plaza hosts thousands of people during their daily commutes and is to be expanded by 2,400 feet. Other updates to the plaza include:
- New decorative concrete paving.
- Granite seating.
- Planting areas.
- Additional lighting and new street lighting
- Bike racks.
- Moveable tables and chairs.
- New traffic signals.
- A extended raised crosswalk that connected the Plaza to the recently renovated Parque de los Ninos playground on Harrod Place.
Harrod Place is also be completely remodeled from Westchester Avenue to Morrison Avenue. Below ground, 600 feet of old 8- and 12-inch water mains will be replaced with 260 feet of 12-inch diameter storm sewer.
Funding for the Morrison Avenue Plaza was provided by New York City, the Federal Transit Administration, and the Transportation Alternatives Program. This project is scheduled to be completed during winter 2021.
Speaking on the project, NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said “when finished, this plaza will no longer simply serve as a passage ground for commuters and residents rushing to and from the Morrison Avenue 6 subway station, but will become a safer and more welcoming space with increased pedestrian space, new lighting and crosswalks, bike racks, a drinking fountain, and easy access to the newly renovated ‘Parque de los Ninos’ playground.”
By: Lynsey Smith (Lynsey is the CityLaw intern and a New York Law School student, Class of 2022.)