Mayor Tells City To Tighten Belt, But Wants $100M For Pet Project

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Mayor Bill de Blasio told New Yorkers to tighten their belts last week as he presented his proposed budget for 2021 — then asked for $100 million for a mystery street safety project that runs through Park Slope, his own neighborhood.

A week later, his office still can't explain what the money will buy.

The funds, if approved as part of de Blasio's 2021 budget, will bring the total tab for the project on Fourth Avenue to more than $200 million, officials said.

The mayor's staff this week confirmed the project will expand improvements to the thoroughfare running from Sunset Park to Park Slope, but were unable to give any specific details.

More details will come at an as-yet-unscheduled public unveiling, they said. They previously said an announcement would come Tuesday, but the day passed without any such event.

Fourth Avenue has long attracted concerns over pedestrian and cyclist safety. Department of Transportation officials last year fast tracked plans to effectively create an unbroken bike lane from First Street to 57th Street.

De Blasio unveiled the additional $98 million for Fourth Avenue as part of his proposed 2021 budget — a $90-plus billion spending plan he took pains to emphasize required significant belt-tightening.

A budget summary labeled the Fourth Avenue project part of the mayor's "Vision Zero" plan to eliminate traffic deaths, a pet project that his administration has championed.

The few details provided by city officials indicate the project will "build out the corridor's bike and pedestrian improvements." They said that includes "hardening" four miles of protected lanes from 64th Street to First Street, but didn't specify what exactly that meant.

Officials also plan to update parking regulations and expand metered parking along Fourth Avenue, but, again, didn't elaborate.

Plans are still in development, officials said.