Neighborhood Streets and Plazas Could Be Redesigned in Plan to Reduce Crime
(DNAINFO) James Fanelli | September 26, 2016 — The city’s newest crime fighters may be architects and urban planners.
City officials have recently explored the idea of redesigning streets, plazas and buildings in The Bronx and Brooklyn to prevent crime, DNAinfo New York has learned.
Last spring, the Department of Design and Construction gave a presentation to the mayor’s office and the NYPD that showed how swaths of Morrisania and Brownsville could be made safer through design tweaks that enhance “natural surveillance” — the concept that would-be lawbreakers are deterred from committing crimes in public areas when they believe more people are watching.
The presentation — which was delivered April 13 and can be viewed below — showed how expanding the width of sidewalks and creating more appealing public spaces at intersections along Webster Avenue in Morrisania would prevent crime. Making areas inviting and pedestrian friendly leads to increased people traffic — and more eyes watching the area, according to the presentation.
The presentation also shows how buildings such as Brownsville’s fortress-like public library could be made more appealing and maximize surveillance if it was redesigned to look like the nearly all-glass Stapleton library in Staten Island.
It also envisions beautifying Brownsville’s drab Osborn Street Plaza with artwork covering the ground. The presentation says that the art coupled with installed seating would promote “positive pedestrian activity.”