On Flatbush Ave. opposite Barclays Center & next to busy take-out restaurants, NYPD's temporary corral deters double-parking & accommodates delivery bikes

Right across from the Barclays Center, on the southbound side of Flatbush Avenue just past Pacific Street, Shake Shack and especially Chick-fil-A have become magnets for vehicles double-parking and deliveristas on e-bikes clustering in the sidewalk.

Magnifying neighbors' concerns were two shooting incidents early this month, which shut down Flatbush Avenue for hours, snagging traffic. There's no direct relationship to the restaurants, as far as I can tell, other than proximity.

A temporary solution

So the NYPD's 78th Precinct created a temporary solution, as shown in the photos, at left from the oppposite side of the street and below with a perspective looking south.

They placed metal barriers in the parking lane to deter parking, creating a corral in that parking late for the delivery guys. A police car has been posted there the two times I went by, when the restaurants were open, but it's hard to see that as sustainable.

"People have complaints. The delivery guys are just constantly on the sidewalks. People can't walk," said 78th Precinct Commanding Officer, Captain Frantz Souffrant, at the Precinct Council's monthly meeting Oct. 26, held on Zoom. 

"And so I spoke with both the owners [of the restaurants]," he said, "and based on our conversation, I felt that it was best that they should be on the street."

Souffrant got words of thanks from some meeting attendees, indicating a major improvement. Complaints had been raised at a previous meeting, before the shootings.

Can it last?

"I'll try to continue that as long as I can," Souffrant said, indicating that it was done without input from the city Department of Transportation (DOT), which regulates traffic and has since made inquiries about the set-up. 

So perhaps DOT will weigh in and create a solution that won't require as consistent a devotion of NYPD resources. 

Note that the Barclays Center has lay-by lanes on Flatbush Avenue, Dean Street, and Atlantic Avenue, and "no-standing" restrictions are regularly flouted, without consequence.

The shootings prompted Gib Veconi's call for a special enforcement district, funded by the arena, and my comment that officials hadn't tried regular enforcement.  (Or, for that matter, neither NYPD nor DOT had weighed in regarding a combination of redesign and enforcement.)

The problem does not directly relate to arena activities, though arguably the arena's presence helped lure the two restaurants, which nonetheless don't rely on arena events for their business.

On Twitter, praise and questions

It was reserved by Chik fil a and shake shack rather than the NYPD

— garfield enthusiast (@__roddick) October 27, 2021

on Monday, cops told me that this is just a month-long initiative. not sure how they’ll access its continuation.

— Diane Martins (@dianemartins) October 27, 2021