Plazas
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Jackson Heights Embraces 78th Street Play Street and Makes It Permanent
"It's just a street. It's asphalt. It doesn't look like anything," said Jackson Heights resident Donovan Finn of the block of 78th Street between Northern Avenue and 34th Avenue. "But it feels like something." Finn's neighbors, it seems, agree.
July 5, 2012
With Support From Local Businesses, Corona Ped Plaza Will Debut in July
The crowded streets of Corona, Queens will receive a welcome infusion of public space this July, thanks to the New York City Department of Transportation's plaza program. With wide-ranging community support, DOT will close a block of service road between National Street and 104th Street to traffic and fill it with plants, tables, chairs and bike racks [PDF].
June 18, 2012
Based on Limited Feedback, Vallone Opposes Astoria Pedestrian Plaza
City Council Member Peter Vallone, Jr. opposes a proposal to create a new pedestrian plaza in public space-starved Astoria. The plaza is one of the options on the table for a dangerous intersection that NYC DOT has targeted for safety imporovements.
June 12, 2012
Eyes on the Street: Fowler Square Plaza Opens in Fort Greene
Fort Greene's newest public plaza opened today and Brownstoner was on the scene to capture the moment. The plaza, which reclaimed space for pedestrians on a short, lightly-trafficked block of South Elliott Place between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue, connects the sidewalk to an existing public triangle.
May 11, 2012
Big Sidewalk Extensions Coming to Bowling Green
Pedestrians at the southern-most tip of Manhattan are getting a lot more space to walk, thanks to a DOT proposal [PDF] first reported by DNAinfo last week.
May 8, 2012
Willoughby Plaza, Already a Hit, Gets a Capital Upgrade
Downtown Brooklyn's Willoughby Street plaza, located just off Adams Street, was the forerunner of New York City's current efforts to reclaim roadways as pedestrian spaces. Built in 2006, before Janette Sadik-Khan took over the city Department of Transportation, the city used now-familiar ingredients -- concrete planters and folding chairs -- to close the block to auto traffic and open up space for people to walk and sit.
April 18, 2012
Brooklyn CB 2 Endorses Fowler Square Plaza, With Evaluation Period
In a meeting Wednesday evening, Brooklyn Community Board 2 endorsed plans to try out a new pedestrian plaza at Fort Greene's Fowler Square. A short, lightly-trafficked block of South Elliott Place, between Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue, will be reclaimed for pedestrians, allowing the existing square to be connected with the adjoining block. The vote was 28 to 4, according to District Manager Rob Perris.
April 13, 2012
The Jackson Heights Plaza Is Growing on Some Local Merchants
A package of enhancements and adjustments to the new pedestrian plaza on 37th Road in Jackson Heights -- the object of a high-profile backlash from a group of local merchants this winter -- is winning over some of the skeptics.
April 11, 2012
Eyes on the Street: An Unnecessary Takeover of the 14th Street Plaza
In March, The Uni posted photos of a behemoth advertising installation in the pedestrian plaza on 14th Street and Ninth Avenue. Here it is as of late last week. We received reports that today it's coming down.
April 5, 2012
Jackson Heights Public Plaza, Thursday Afternoon
Courtesy of Clarence Eckerson, Jr., here are some more scenes from the Jackson Heights pedestrian plaza that don't fit the New York Times' preferred narrative. Clarence says he passed through the plaza three times yesterday and it was bustling each time. On a Thursday.
March 23, 2012