A chaotic multi-vehicle crash tore through the fence line at Sgt. William Dougherty Playground in Greenpoint just after 9 a.m. Sunday, sending a car crashing onto a crumbled concrete barrier and leaving four people injured. The pileup unfolded at Vandervoort Avenue and Anthony Street, right where the park sits against the Brooklyn approach to the Kosciuszko Bridge.
According to News 12 Brooklyn, fire officials said four people were injured in the crash. Citizen app footage cited by the outlet showed a white Mercedes-Benz sedan perched atop a partially crumbled concrete barrier, along with a damaged gray Hyundai sedan, a white Mercedes SUV, and a gray Hyundai SUV with rear-end damage, suggesting several vehicles collided before the fence gave way. FDNY paramedics transported two people to the hospital and treated two others at the scene, per the same report. The extent of the injuries and the cause of the crash were not immediately known as of Sunday.
A Park Built Beside Heavy Highway and Truck Traffic
The 0.43-acre playground sits directly adjacent to the Kosciuszko Bridge's Brooklyn ramp, a location explained by its own history. According to NYC Parks, the park was completely redesigned and expanded in 2018 using community mitigation funding tied to the state's Kosciuszko Bridge reconstruction project, and the block-long space now includes play structures, handball courts, and a skate park. The playground was originally dedicated in 1948 to honor Sergeant William Dougherty, a Greenpoint resident and World War II soldier with the 165th Infantry Regiment who was killed in action in 1945 and posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star; NYC Parks notes Dougherty frequented the playground site before enlisting in the Army.
Vandervoort Avenue itself is an officially designated New York City truck route, cutting through an industrial stretch of Greenpoint and East Williamsburg lined with distribution facilities, commercial truck yards, and auto repair shops, the city's truck route rules note that freight vehicles must stay on designated avenues unless making direct local deliveries. The nearby Meeker Avenue corridor, which connects directly to Vandervoort Avenue, was flagged by the city for a Vision Zero overhaul in May 2021 after the NYC Department of Transportation recorded 10 severe injuries and one fatality across 208 crashes there between 2014 and 2018, as reported by Bklyner. The redesign proposed dedicated bike lanes and pedestrian pathways underneath the expressway.
A Stretch of Road With a History of Serious Crashes
Sunday's crash is not the first severe collision on this stretch of Vandervoort Avenue. WNYC Studios has covered traffic safety advocacy and safer streets. More recently, Hoodline reported that a 31-year-old pedestrian suffered critical head injuries in a February hit-and-run near Maspeth Avenue after a northbound motorist struck him as he entered a double-parked vehicle.
Playground Fencing Built for Kids, Not Crashes
Standard city playground fencing is not designed to stop a vehicle. Within its waterfront zoning context, NYC Zoning Resolution § 62-651 sets fencing standards for playground perimeters, including a maximum height of 36 inches and a requirement that fences be at least 70 percent open; it does not establish a general citywide rule. See NYC Planning.
