DOT honors Jackie Robinson with new signage

A legend honored.

On Thursday, April 12, The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) celebrated the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier by unveiling signs honoring the legendary slugger along the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Cypress Hills.

The signs include an image of Robinson himself holding a bat and donning his famous number 42 jersey.

“With baseball season now in full swing, no one should ever forget the history that Jackie Robinson made at Ebbets Field more than 70 years ago,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.  “It is so appropriate that the parkway that bears his name – a road that Mets fans in Brooklyn now take directly to Citi Field – should finally honor the man with his likeness.  We thank the Jackie Robinson Foundation, his family and all of the state and city agencies that made this possible. We are also grateful to the Mets for being such great partners in getting our critical Vision Zero education message out to their fans this season.”

At the intersection that serves as the Brooklyn entrance to the parkway, the de Blasio administration has made major Vision Zero safety enhancements as well as unveiling a new Vision Zero campaign at Citi Field in Queens this spring.

Around 25 new signs have been installed this month by NYC DOT, along the Parkway and at entrance ramps.

The intersection redesign added several crosswalks, pedestrian signals and brighter lighting, including on the north end of the intersection, where previously hundreds of pedestrians per day had crossed the parkway entrance itself.

“After a long winter, what better way to celebrate spring and the start of baseball season than to honor the man who literally transformed the game 71 years ago this month,” added DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg.  “I thank the Robinson family for helping us honor Jackie Robinson in the way he so richly deserves. We are also in Brooklyn to showcase some of our best new Vision Zero engineering and education work — from this safer intersection at the Brooklyn end of ‘the Jackie’ to the great marketing effort the Mets are showing at Citi Field – at the Queens end of this great winding parkway.”

“These new safety measures honor Jackie Robinson’s legacy by ensuring his mission of making our world a better place for all lives on,” added Borough President Eric Adams. “Amidst recent pedestrian deaths across the borough, these safety changes implemented at the Jackie Robinson Parkway entrance as well as the Vision Zero awareness campaign should be replicated across the borough to ensure that Brooklyn remains a safe place for pedestrians and cyclists alike.”