Assemblyman Hikind proudly announced that $6 million has been allocated by the New York State Legislature for Ocean Parkway Corridor Walking and Bicycling Safety Improvements. The allocations, which were accelerated thanks to efforts made by Assemblyman Hikind and his colleagues in the Assembly and the State Senate, are part of the NY Works program and supplement the existing State Road and Bridge Capital Plan. The monies will go towards state-of-the-art signage and other improvements meant to protect pedestrians and bicyclists along the span of Ocean Parkway.

“These improvements will be truly valuable to our community,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “The dangers on Ocean Parkway have long been expressed by residents. There are pedestrians walking where bicyclists are supposed to be and vice-versa. Confusion on a busy highway means high risk to everyone. I often walked my mother along or across Ocean Parkway. There’s children, elderly, and everyone in-between trying to get to where they have to go in the safest possible way. Proper demarcations, count-down signals for alerting pedestrians and bicyclists, and good, visible signs will go a long way towards protecting the safety of our many residents.”
The efforts to maintain and improve the Ocean Parkway Corridor have been going on for years. When constituents reported the hazardous and decrepit condition of the benches that line the parkway back in 2002, Hikind and then Councilman Simcha Felder called for their restoration after conducting a survey which showed that the benches had become a detriment to the borough and its constituency. In a letter to then Commissioner Adrian Benepe of NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, they described the serious condition of the benches and invited the Commissioner to join them to survey the pedestrian walkway.After being alerted to the hazard to constituents by Assemblyman Hikind and Councilman Felder, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation swiftly negotiated the repair and restoration of the derelict benches.

“Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Julius Spiegel have gone out of their way to refurbish the benches expeditiously, in time for the fall and High Holiday season. Determinedly, they approached the issue and continue to attack the project, with repairs ongoing,” said Hikind.