EAST WILLIAMSBURG DRI

Community Vision and Goals

Shared Community Vision

We envision East Williamsburg as a dynamic and inclusive downtown that balances its proud manufacturing legacy with thriving commercial corridors lined by both multi-generational and new businesses serving residents, workers, and visitors.

East Williamsburg will be resilient against gentrification pressures, expanding housing options and local employment opportunities. Anchored by robust transit and a network of green and public spaces, the neighborhood will celebrate its deep cultural heritage by building on its existing community services and destinations, and by fostering new ones.






Goal 1 Thriving Commercial Corridors and Stable Communities
Observation


Commercial corridors like Graham Avenue, Grand Street, Metropolitan Avenue, and Broadway support diverse local businesses and serve as important centers of daily life. However, rising housing and commercial costs, business turnover, vacancies, and development pressures threaten both the small businesses and long-time residents that contribute to East Williamsburg's identity and economic vitality.
Goal

 Support vibrant and inclusive commercial corridors that strengthen local businesses, expand access to housing, attract visitors, and enable long-time residents and workers to remain part of the community.


Strategies

  • Support mixed-use and affordable housing developments that help residents remain in the neighborhood while strengthening nearby commercial corridors.
  • Expand access to affordable childcare and daycare, supporting working families and enabling residents to remain and work in the neighborhood.
  • Support capital improvements for businesses and organizations that serve as "third spaces" for gathering, learning, and social connection, such as bookstores, libraries, and multi-use community facilities.
  • Improve storefronts, facades, signage, and other elements that contribute to an active, welcoming commercial environment.
  • Increase the visibility of local businesses through coordinated wayfinding, marketing and branding, events, and neighborhood-wide promotions.




Goal 2 Safe, Attractive, and Connected Pedestrian Environments

Observation

Major transportation infrastructure (BQE, elevated transit, truck routes) and the heavy traffic they carry create physical and psychological barriers to pedestrian movement. Limited street trees, seating, and lighting make some pedestrian routes less inviting. Connectivity is further challenged by curbside activity that creates conflicts among loading trucks, cyclists, and pedestrians.
Goal

 Strengthen pedestrian connections within East Williamsburg and to surrounding neighborhoods by creating safer, more comfortable, and more accessible walking environments.


Strategies

  • Implement traffic calming and pedestrian safety measures along high-crash commercial corridors like Metropolitan Avenue, Grand Street, and Broadway.
  • Add more pedestrian amenities (seating, lighting and landscaping) to larger traffic islands and pedestrian gathering spaces (e.g. triangle plazas at Graham Avenue and Broadway, and at Graham Avenue and Richardson Street). 
  • Expand street tree plantings along major pedestrian routes and commercial corridors.
  • Enhance pedestrian routes through the placement of public art, wayfinding, and other streetscape elements making them more welcoming and easier to navigate.
  • Activate underutilized spaces beneath the BQE through public-space improvements and amenities to better connect pedestrians across this transportation barrier.




Goal 3High-Quality Open Spaces


Observation

East Williamsburg has limited open space and low tree canopy coverage; both are among the lowest citywide. Cooper Park serves as the neighborhood's primary green space, but most other plazas and playgrounds are hardscaped, providing limited opportunities for recreation, informal gathering, and multigenerational use while increasing exposure to extreme heat.


Goal

 Expand access to high-quality, green public spaces that mitigate flooding and extreme heat while supporting recreation, social connection, and community health.


Strategies

  • Convert underutilized sites, including dead-end street ends such as Cook Street and McKibbin Street, into new public spaces.
  • Upgrade existing public green spaces, plazas, and playgrounds (like Macri Triangle and Martinez Playground) with new seating, play equipment, lighting, and landscaping.
  • Leverage the neighborhood's robust concentration of schools and houses of worship by creating and enhancing courtyards and other open spaces for public events, community gatherings, and programming.
  • Create and/or enhance small outdoor spaces that welcome social gatherings and offer community residents, visitors, and workers space to rest and recharge.




Goal 4 More Visible and Connected Cultural Landscape


Observation

East Williamsburg's identity is reflected in its murals, music, community institutions, immigrant-owned businesses, and community destinations. However, many cultural assets are not highly visible or connected, and the neighborhood lacks sufficient dedicated space for arts, culture, and youth programming.


Goal

 Celebrate and strengthen East Williamsburg's cultural identity through arts, culture, public space, and community-serving facilities for all ages.


Strategies

  • Invest in permanent spaces for arts, culture, and youth activities, including renovations and building upgrades. 
  • Install permanent public art, murals, and cultural markers that reflect East Williamsburg's history and contemporary communities.
  • Improve signage, wayfinding, and public spaces around cultural destinations, like Moore Street Market and Graham Avenue.
  • Improve storefronts and building facades of local businesses and community institutions to make them more visible from the street. 
  • Upgrade existing cultural facilities with equipment, technology, lighting, sound systems, and other capital improvements to expand community programming and enhance access and participation.






Goal 5 A Diverse Local Economy


Observation

A mix of industrial, commercial, health, and creative businesses anchors the local economy and provides employment opportunities across skill levels. However, rising real estate costs and development pressures threaten this mix, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to remain and grow in the neighborhood.


Goal

 Retain and foster East Williamsburg’s diverse economy through increased visibility and support for its local businesses and industries, stronger connections between industrial and local commercial shops, workforce training and education that connect residents to local jobs, and new opportunities for community ownership.


Strategies

  • Expand workforce training, job placement, and educational programs that prepare residents for careers in local industrial, health, creative, and commercial sectors.
  • Support incubators, shared workspaces, fabrication facilities, and other business-support infrastructure. 
  • Improve connections between the broader East Williamsburg community and industrial areas through wayfinding, public realm improvements, and educational initiatives, particularly for local youth, that showcase local industries.
  • Encourage mixed-use developments that incorporate affordable commercial, cultural, and light industrial uses where appropriate.
    Attract new businesses that complement and strengthen the existing economic ecosystem.

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