Fort Greene's Revamped Fowler Square Reopens

Take a seat, Brookynites: Fowler Square reopens with new trees, planters, benches, chairs and tables as well as new light poles and other upgrades to its infrastructure.

After a year-long transformation, Fowler Square, located at the corner of Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue, has reopened and is now bigger and better. The revamped pedestrian plaza in the heart of Fort Greene is now equipped with improved infrastructure and new amenities such as benches, street lights, trees and planters.

"With the help of our partners at NYC Department of Design and Construction, we are proud to introduce the new and permanent Fowler Square pedestrian plaza, a space — only blocks away from great bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants and cultural institutions like BAM — that completely captures the vitality of Fort Greene," said NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. "Fowler Square is one of the best examples of how plazas can unite communities, with year-round gatherers in an enlarged park that perfectly illustrates the success of the plaza model."

The expanded Fowler Square brings 4,500 square feet of new pedestrian space to the neighborhood. The $2 million project also added two "bumpouts" at the intersection of South Elliott and Lafayette, to make it easier for pedestrians to cross the street.

Included in the project are seven new trees, new light poles, streetlights and pedestrian signals. The square also has a new water fountain, five new planters, plus six new metal benches, 75 new chairs and 25 new tables. The statue of General Edward Fowler has been repositioned 24 feet to the east so it remains in the center of the space and now has a new concrete base with plantings surrounded by a circular granite seating area.

Also, the infrastructure underneath the square has received a makeover. Underground, 800 feet of old water mains have been replaced and 60 feet of new storm sewers have been added, along with five new catch basins to capture stormwater and reduce flooding.

"I've lived near here for 35 years and this is great," said local resident Michael Gaynor. "Everyone loves it. Kids are here every day after school having a great time. They're doing something great for the people and helping to pick up this part of Fort Greene. I wish they would build more projects like this."