BROOKLYN —
Newkirk Plaza, home to dozens of businesses in Ditmas Park that straddle a subway stop for the Q and B, is a municipal orphan.
Neither the city nor the MTA will assert authority over the oldest outdoor shopping plaza in America. Merchants and elected officials say this has left its public areas unmanaged, without funding, oversight and a sense of safety.
Now officials want the city to add the plaza to the Department of Transportation’s Pedestrian Plaza Program, which is designed to create vibrant social spaces.
