The plan would cut the corridor from as many as eight travel lanes to four and add protected bike lanes, with the first phase set to begin next year.
BROOKLYN, NY - October 28, 2026
Officials in New York City have unveiled plans to overhaul a Sunset Park stretch of Third Avenue, a road with a long record of safety concerns, after a hit-and-run crash killed Jiayi Zheng. Zheng, who was 28, worked as a nurse at NYU Langone Brooklyn Hospital. ABC7 New York reported that the corridor has seen 17 traffic deaths over the past decade.
Key Facts
- Date: October 28, 2026 (date first reported)
- Location: Third Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn (Kings County), New York
- Type of crash: Hit-and-run involving a pedestrian
- Vehicles involved: A black Cadillac, according to police
- Injuries / fatalities: One fatality
- Responding agencies: Police
- Reported by: ABC7 New York
Crash Overview
The redesign would sharply reduce vehicle traffic on a 2.1-mile corridor. Third Avenue would drop from as many as eight travel lanes to four, with protected bike lanes in both directions and parking lanes kept on each side. Pedestrian crossings would also be shortened.
The project would proceed in two stages, with the southern portion running from 62nd to 43rd streets starting next year. The northern portion, which stretches from 43rd to 20th streets, has a target date of 2028. Bike lanes will also be added on 60th Street, spanning the blocks between Second and Fourth avenues.
According to ABC7 New York, police said Zheng had the right of way and had crossed the first of three crosswalks when she was struck by a speeding black Cadillac. The report says the driver fled the scene, and the sources do not report any arrest. Zheng had finished an overnight shift at work when the crash happened.
Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group cited by ABC7 New York, counted Zheng as the 11th pedestrian or cyclist killed on the stretch since 2014. A similar redesign proposed under the previous administration was abandoned in 2025 after opposition from some local business owners. Mayor Mamdani said in a statement that the city will transform the avenue starting next year to protect pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.