What does it look like when a neighborhood fights to make its streets safer? Changing Lanes follows the multi-year effort to transform Brooklyn’s notoriously dangerous McGuinness Boulevard and how its redesign—from a four-lane boulevard into a safer, two-lane street with protected bike lanes—became a political flashpoint within the community.
Filmed over the course of three years spanning the Adams and Mamdani administrations, the documentary captures a fascinating story of democracy at street level, from the emergence of the grassroots “Make McGuinness Safe” movement to the intricacies of urban planning and bureaucracy necessary to make a road calmer and safer.
The film places the battle over McGuinness Boulevard in a broader context of New York City history and politics, revealing how activists have long fought against the status quo to transform cities into safer and more vibrant communities. Featuring interviews with politicians, community leaders, transportation advocates, urban planners, entrepreneurs, and cultural icons, including musician David Byrne and former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation Janette Sadik-Khan, Changing Lanes investigates the urgent questions of how our cities are built and who they are built for.
The film will be followed by a Q&A with panelists and moderator to be announced.