After advocacy from PS 676 students started three years ago, the new and improved Hamilton Avenue footbridge opened with a ribbon cutting on a rainy day in January.
Ten students, along with Council member Alexa Aviles and Principal Priscilla Figueroa celebrated the completion of the renovation with a ribbon cutting. The bridge is now safer, more inviting to cross and is cleaner as well.
In 2019, the footbridge renovation idea started to come to fruition when the PS 676 fifth graders got an assignment to find a problem in their community and think of ways they could advocate to improve it.
According to Parent Coordinator Marie Hueston, they walked around the neighborhood looking for ideas. During their walk, they crossed the footbridge and noticed trash, poor lighting and holes in the pavement where you could see the highway below.
Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz in 2019 encouraged the fifth graders to write to Governor Cuomo, so that is what they did. They also wrote to the Commissioner of the NY State Department of Transportation. The push was rewarded with $3 million in state funding.
DOT Officials came to look at the bridge in November 2019 and the students led the tour.
The renovation plan included upgrading the bridge’s lighting and fencing, fixing the holes, adding directional signs and putting bike corrals in place at each end of the bridge to discourage bikes from speeding. Handrails along the path were installed.
Zelda DeZayas, who is in the sixth grade, thinks that the bridge is much better than before and likes the increased features. She takes the bridge to get to and from school.
“I was here when they first started renovating it and it was really weird and kind of bad,” DeZayas said. “The other part was not accessible and people would have to stop for each other. But now there are higher fences and there is so much space.”
“I think it is way better than before because it is safer than before,” Amiya Baez, another sixth grader, said.
The students were asked if the improved footbridge makes them want to find out what is in the other neighborhood and DeZayas confidently said yes.
“Who would not want to look into a piece of another community when the entrance is so accessible and available,” Zelda said.
Heather Pacheco, who is in sixth grade like the other students who spoke, has taken the footbridge often growing up. She liked that the fifth graders pushed to get the bridge fixed.
“I really like that you guys chose to do that, and when I was younger me and my dad came this way and the bridge was messed up,” Pacheco said. “It looked bad but now that it is new it looks way better than it used to. I like that it is accessible for everyone.”
The kids were asked what lesson they would want to share with other students and the rest of the community based on their advocacy and achievement.
“No matter what age you are, you can do anything,” Baez said, which was followed by cheers.
“If you see something that needs to be changed in your community, no matter your age, don’t be afraid to speak up and do it,” DeZayas said.
The renovation officially began in 2021. Over the summer of 2021, Monica Morales from Monica Makes it Happen on PIX 11 News did a piece highlighting the renovation and the advocacy of the students, and she returned the day of the ribbon cutting.
Right next to the renovated footbridge on the Red Hook side there is an area that used to be a parking lot. Their next project is to turn it into a park.
Aviles, who is the representative for Red Hook and Sunset Park, said she heard stories about the students getting together and making this happen.
“If you stay committed you can materialize the community that you want,” Aviles told the students. “Remember that everything is possible and we deserve the best. We deserve a beautiful bridge with dignity and a beautiful community with dignity.”
“On behalf of New York City Council District 38, I want to say thank you for being active community members and fighting for our community,” Aviles said. “I look forward to partnering with you on our next project.
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