As new residents flock to Ridgewood, the head of Community Board 5 says the Department of Transportation (DOT) has its eye on making this crowded intersection a bit safer. The department wants to shut down part of Wyckoff Avenue and turn it into a pedestrian-friendly plaza.

"There are more and more vehicles and there's more and more pedestrians," said Gary Giordano, the head of Community Board 5 in Queens. 

"It will be on Wyckoff between Gates and Myrtle Avenues," said Nicole Garcia, the Queens Commissioner for the NYC DOT. "And what this does is it clarifies a lot of the traffic movements which connects this massive transit hub you have the L the M and also the bus there."

The proposal is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative to improve traffic safety citywide. A DOT spokesperson says since 2010 there have been close to two dozen accidents at the intersection, two of them fatal.

In 2014, the DOT limited the number of turns drivers could make, but there are still more than 20 possible turns. The new plaza could shrink that to seven. The department presented the idea to Community Board 5 in February.

"The question becomes what's that going to do as far as how traffic goes we think motorists are increasingly in too much of a rush," Giordano said.

But some residents aren't sure a pedestrian plaza is the answer.

"This is not really a place to like, sit down and have cup of coffee," said AJ Asdrubal, a truck driver from Ridgewood. 

"If they're doing construction and moving and changing the flow of traffic, I feel like that would probably be worse," said Frances Gill, a bicyclist from nearby Bushwick.

So the DOT says it's rolling out a "one-day plaza" in April to ease concerns.

"Roll out some tables and chairs and give people a feel for what this expanded safer space as an amenity to the community," Garcia said.

Meanwhile, local business owners we spoke with say they're always open to more foot traffic.

"It will help business, it's good for business," the manager of a deli and smoke shop said.

Giardano says he plans to meet with neighboring Community Board 4 in Brooklyn and local businesses this month to discuss whether they support the proposed plaza.