Plazas
Streetsblog Basics
Eyes on the Street: Checking Out Books at Putnam Plaza
When Putnam Plaza opened nearly two years ago in Clinton Hill, it was welcomed with a dance party. Last Friday, the dancing continued as the Fulton Area Business Alliance, the local business improvement district, held one of its FAB Friday events in the plaza. The space featured games, live music, and a portable library allowing people to sit and relax with a book. On Sunday evening, the BID hosted Soul Aerobics in the plaza. FAB Friday events are also scheduled this summer for Cuyler Gore Park and Fowler Square plaza in Fort Greene.
May 14, 2013
Eyes on the Street: Ped Plaza/Bike-Share Hub Takes Shape at Grand Central
Across the street from Grand Central, a new pedestrian plaza is being installed this afternoon. Jonny Hamilton, who works nearby, snapped this short video of DOT workers laying down the new surface at Pershing Square between 42nd and 41st Streets, on the east side of the Park Avenue viaduct.
May 10, 2013
Eyes on the Street: First Avenue Protected Bike Lane Extends Uptown
Our most recent progress report on the protected bike lanes for East Harlem and the Upper East Side came last October, when crews installed the bike lane and pedestrian refuges on Second Avenue between 100th Street and 125th Street. Last year also saw the construction of a protected bike lane on First Avenue between the Queensboro Bridge and 72nd Street. Now, long-time reader Jacob sends in photos of the latest extension on First Avenue, which will stretch up to 125th Street.
May 6, 2013
Eyes on the Street: From Parking to Parklet in Hell’s Kitchen
Courtesy of Christine Berthet of CHEKPEDS, here are photos of what could be Manhattan's newest public space, a pocket park on Dyer Avenue in Hell's Kitchen.
May 3, 2013
Developer J.D. Carlisle Yanks Support for Kips Bay Plaza, Killing Project
A two-block pedestrian plaza for a Second Avenue service road in Kips Bay, which was on track for implementation this summer, has been indefinitely delayed after adjacent property owner J.D. Carlisle sent a letter to DOT last week saying that it opposed the project.
March 28, 2013
New Plazas Could Reclaim Two Blocks in the Financial District
With painted curb extensions expanding the pedestrian realm on Broadway and Whitehall Street in the Financial District, public space projects are now expected to spread around the corner to Water Street. The area is also on track to receive a first-in-the-city rule rule change making it easier to host public events in privately-owned off-street plazas.
March 13, 2013
West Side and Sunset Park Community Boards Advance Bike Lanes and Plazas
Last night, two community boards in Sunset Park and Manhattan's West Side voted to support bike lanes, bike parking and permanent pedestrian plazas. As a result, Sunset Park will be receiving shared lane markings on Fifth Avenue, the permanent reconstruction of a plaza at Ninth Avenue and 14th Street will move ahead, and bike lanes and on-street corrals are on track for the West Side of Manhattan.
February 21, 2013
Despite Awful Track Record, Plaza NIMBYs Always Good for a Quote
In case you missed it, the Brooklyn Paper ran a by-the-numbers NIMBY react piece on a public plaza that has been proposed for Broadway near Bedford Avenue.
January 28, 2013
At Pioneering Ped Plaza, Paint and Planters Are Now Curbs and Concrete
NYC DOT's plaza program hit a milestone today, when officials cut the ribbon on a block of Willoughby Street reclaimed from car traffic between Pearl and Adams Streets in Downtown Brooklyn. What used to be, essentially, a private parking lot for government placard holders, is now the first plaza program project to make the transition from temporary materials to permanent construction.
January 18, 2013
Myth Busted: Safer Streets Are Not Slowing Emergency Responders
A go-to NIMBY argument against safe street improvements is that bike lanes, pedestrian plazas, and ped refuge islands interfere with emergency responders.
January 3, 2013