Streets of Dyker and Bensonhurst among best in city

The streets of Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst aren’t perfect, but they are better than the streets in many other portions of the city, according to the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO), which on January 17 released a report detailing the street quality assessment performed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) over the past 18 months.

Doug Turetsky, Chief of Staff and Communications Director of of the IBO, says the report “looks at the physical conditions of the city’s streets and roadways,” assessing such thing as cracks, craters and potholes. According to the report, neighborhoods are rated on a scale from 1-10, and characterized as “poor” (1-3), “fair” (4-7) and “good” (8-10).

The streets in the best shape in southwest Brooklyn are located in Bensonhurst, where 80.99 percent of its streets received a “good” rating, the ninth best in the borough. Trailing close behind is Dyker Heights, where 80.80 percent of streets are considered “good.” Dyker is ranked 10^th in the borough.

In Bay Ridge, 70.28 percent of the streets are rated “good,” giving the neighborhood 40^th place in Brooklyn out of a total of 50. Nonetheless, Bay Ridge’s thoroughfares are still a far cry from the worst streets in Brooklyn, which are in Coney Island, where only 35.04 percent of streets are rated “good.”

Citywide, street conditions have been deteriorating since 2012, according to the Mayor’s Management Report. However Brooklyn’s streets have proven to be in the best condition of all five boroughs, with 75.1 percent of its streets rated as “good.” Also, the specific neighborhoods with the best ratings — like Fort Greene and Williamsburg — all fall in Brooklyn.

There is also a trend whereby streets that tend to be near green spaces, such as parks and cemeteries, are in better condition. Bay Ridge and its neighboring areas, such as Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst and Sunset Park, have the most parks per square mile in all of Brooklyn, and they are among some of the highest rated streets in the city.

In terms of cleanliness, streets in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst all rank high, according to the Department of Sanitation’s street cleaning “scorecards,” the most recent of which came out in November of 2016. According to that report, 96.4 percent of Brooklyn streets were considered “acceptably clean,” up from 93.3 percent the previous year. In addition, 96.5 percent of the borough’s sidewalks were considered “acceptably clean,” an increase from 94.4 percent in 2015.

CB 10 had 97.9 percent “acceptably clean” streets and 98.1 percent “acceptably clean” sidewalks, according to that report, while Community Board 11, where Bensonhurst is located, had 98.8 percent “acceptably clean” streets and 99.3 percent “acceptably clean” sidewalks, according to that report.

Josephine Beckmann, District Manager of Community Board 10, which serves the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton, said, “Our residents do a good job of keeping their streets clean. However, there are some areas that struggle due to illegal dumping, such as pedestrian overpasses and the 62nd Street train tracks.” Beckmann also said that the community board continually works with the Department of Sanitation on areas that require recurring service.

To see the complete report from IBO and DOT, click here.

For Sanitation’s Cleanliness Scorecard, click here.