1905: The Sleepy South Midwood Trolley Station That Would Become Newkirk Plaza

Click HERE to view a 15 minute video uploaded to YouTube a year ago to try and explain how a complicated situation arose and might be resolved by digging into some long-forgotten history. The NYC Department of Transportation refuses to include the Plaza in its plaza maintenance program because…well, they claim it’s not the City’s responsibility (except for the bridges over the railroad). And the MTA views their responsibility as just a narrow strip of the deck. As a result the Newkirk merchants suffer from a poorly maintained, disheveled, unattractive atmosphere. A recent grant won by the FDC (Flatbush Development Corporation) with the assistance of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke for storefront refurbishment will help, but the MTA and DOT need to step up and take ownership for a long-term sustainable solution.

More details on this controversy can be found on Community Board 14’s site at https://cb14brooklyn.com/newkirk-plaza-video/

Here’s how I described the video last year:

A history told with images, many buried in New York City’s Municipal Archives…59 slides with explanatory text explain how Newkirk Plaza came to be: A corporate railroad negotiated easements with landowners adjoining their tracks to expand from a 50 foot, 2 track right-of-way to a 75 foot 4 track station with two island platforms. In exchange for their land the owners — all save one were realtors — had the railroad deck-over the donated 25 feet, creating a sidewalk that shrewd businessmen turned into the first open air shopping plaza AND the railroad also agreed to maintain the deck. Today, that railroad is operated by the Transit Authority per a lease agreement with the City. The TA owns the deck and the station; the Department of Transportation owns the bridges at either end spanning Foster and Newkirk Avenues, and the stores and buildings on the Plaza are privately owned. What could possibly go wrong?

Thanks to Erik Seims, a superb transit analyst whose writings first turned me on to the hidden history of the Plaza and to Greg Alvarez, whose land-use legal acumen and interest in this topic inspired me to dig deeper. Finally, Shawn Campbell of CB14 and FDC (Robin Redmond, Lupe Ramsey & Nina Leonard) have been tireless advocates for reviving the Plaza.

For more Brooklyn history, see https://argyleheights.blogspot.com

The URL for the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LT_tLQP73s

1906: Looking East at almost the same angle as the 1905 photo above


1907: Same angle as 1906 photo above