Debate Quashed on Fowler Square Pedestrian Plaza

If critics of hoped to find a venue to air their grievances at St. Francis College, they walked away disappointed Tuesday night.

At a meeting of Community Board 2's Transportation Committee, officials from the city Department of Transportation unveiled the final design for a "temporary" pedestrian area on S. Elliott Place—leaving staunch plaza opponents largely silent as the plan lurched forward.

"This meeting can’t be a free-for-all," said CB2 Transportation Committee chair Hemalee Patel, speaking to the smattering of plaza critics at Tuesday's meeting.

The design for the pedestrian space, which will be installed sometime in May, was shown to the committee mostly as it was presented .

Some of the key elements:

• Unlike Putnam Pedestrian Plaza, the colors for the tables, chairs and umbrellas at Fowler Square will be of a "muted" palate in keeping with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhood. 
• Fowler statue definitely will stay, with some new floral/landscaping accents. Better signage will inform visitors about Fowler's and Fort Greene's during the Civil War.
• DOT will install a clearly delineated border between the edge of the property and the plaza itself.
• Flexible bollards and space between "blocks" set at plaza will allow fire engine access to the block from the south and the north.
• As at Putnam, Fulton Area Business Alliance will be in charge of trash pickup, watering of plants and securing tables and chairs at night.

According to DOT, only two legal parking spaces will be lost and a maximum of 95 vehicles traveling at peak hours forced onto S. Portland Avenue with the closure of S. Elliott Place.