NYC DOT, Council Member Tish James, Community Board 2, and the Fulton Area Business Alliance are hosting a community workshop tonight to gather ideas for a new plaza at Fowler Square — the triangle formed by Fulton Street, Lafayette Avenue, and South Elliot Place in Fort Greene. In addition to lending your expertise as the new public space takes shape, this is an important one to turn out for because a handful of project opponents have managed to commandeer past meetings.

The Fowler Square plaza would reclaim a short, lightly-trafficked block of South Elliott in front of the Smoke Joint. Community Board 2 overwhelmingly approved it, but opponents have disrupted workshops for this project before and they will probably try again. Their complaint seems to boil down to two things: 1) If they happen to be driving on the one block of South Elliott Place between Fort Greene Park and Lafayette, they’d have to drive one block out of their way to reach Fulton Street; and 2) New York is not Amsterdam.

So if you live in the neighborhood and you’re of the mind that New York is not Parsippany or I-95, tonight’s workshop is a good place to share your vision for a city where streets do more than just move cars. Here’s where to go:

Lafayette Ave Presbyterian Church – Jarvey Room
85 South Oxford Street (between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue)
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.