On October 10, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Department of Transportation Commission Janet Sadik-Khan announced that Prospect Heights would be among the 15 New York City neighborhoods chosen for the expansion of the Neighborhood Slow Zone (NSZ) program. 74 communities had applied to be included in the NSZ expansion, under which speeds on local streets are reduced from 30 mph to 20 mph in conjunction with other traffic calming measures. Slow Zones also seek to enhance quality of life by reducing cut-through traffic and traffic noise in residential neighborhoods.

Prospect Heights’ successful application was sponsored and submitted by the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC). The slow zone will include all of Prospect Heights, from Flatbush Avenue to the west, Washington Avenue to the east, Atlantic Avenue to the north, and Eastern Parkway to the south [DOT fact sheet]. More than 1,300 local residents signed a petition in support of a slow zone in Prospect Heights, and PHNDC’s application was supported by State Senators Eric Adams and Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly Members Joan Millman and Walter Mosley, City Council Member Letitia James, and Community Board 8. The slow zone is scheduled to implemented in 2016.