PARK SLOPE — Break out the Champagne, the city is here to slow the cars.
Residents of Seventh Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues were so overjoyed when the Department of Transportation showed up this week to install two speed humps that they welcomed workers with a homemade cake and a "Happy Hump Day" sign.
Seventh Street mom Kathy Price greeted the DOT workers by blasting the Black Eyed Peas song "My Humps." The moment marked the end of a two-year effort for Price, who said on her blog that she requested the humps in January 2014 in hopes of slowing the cars that sometimes fly down her block.
When the big moment finally arrived, she was moved to make a cake shaped like a speed hump and hot cocoa to celebrate — and to teach her two kids a lesson "about achieving goals, the importance of showing appreciation and the fun of celebrating accomplishments," she wrote on her blog.
"[The DOT] workers were all so amazingly appreciative," Price wrote. "A few of them said they had been working for the DOT for 22+ years and had never seen anyone thankful like we were."
The joyous moment was captured by City Councilman Brad Lander, who tweeted photos of the street makeover.
Pretty sure this is the most love a @NYC_DOT speed hump installation crew has ever received! 7th St btw 4th/5th Ave pic.twitter.com/q3VqHqf3bB
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) January 5, 2016A grateful parent from nearby P.S. 118 chimed in thanks as well.
The families of @PS118PTA are grateful for this! Thanks @NYC_DOT @BrooklynCB6 for getting it done. https://t.co/J6jl4wbhkE
— Brooklyn Spoke (@BrooklynSpoke) January 6, 2016A DOT spokeswoman said the agency got a request from the local mom last year for the traffic-slowing device, and “worked closely with her to look into the feasibility of a hump” on the block.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this request and are always happy to work with the community to consider requests in the interest of public safety,” the spokeswoman said.
Street safety is a top concern in Park Slope. Locals formed the Park Slope Street Safety Partnership in the wake of the 2013 death of Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy hit and killed by a driver on Prospect Park West and Third Street.
