Proposed Policy Raises Questions about How Fair is the Thoroughfare
The City’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved two local applications to bring its Open Streets program (which closes streets to traffic and transforms them into public spaces) to Lower Manhattan.
One of these is a continuation of an Open Street in front of the Peck Slip School, which will shut down Peck Slip between Water and Pearl Streets for three periods each day: drop-off (7am to 9:30am), recess (10am to 1:10pm) and pickup (2:45pm to 4pm).
The second will be a new Open Street requested by Casa Restaurant, which opened in January at 157 Duane Street. This closure will shut down Duane Street between Hudson Street and West Broadway every day of the week except Thursday. The closure will be in effect starting at 11am Monday through Friday (Thursday excepted) and 10am on weekends, with the street reopening at 9:30pm each evening, except Sunday when the barriers will come down at 4pm.
The Open Street on Duane is part of a controversial push by the administration of Mayor Eric Adams to allow private businesses to request street closures. If enacted, this rule change would effectively harness what had originally been conceived as a public-benefit program – designed to support schools and community organizations, facilitate pedestrian and bike mobility, and “provide new ways for New Yorkers to enjoy cultural programming and build community” – for use by private interests, under the rubric of “economic development.”
The DOT will host a public hearing about this proposed change on Wednesday, April 23, at 55 Water Street (sixth floor). Anyone wishing to weigh in on this proposal is also invited to submit comments via email (rules@dot.nyc.gov) and via the agency’s website (rules.cityofnewyork.us). The deadline for submitting comments outside the meeting is 5:30pm on Wednesday.) For more information, click here.
The Open Streets program was launched during the Covid pandemic, as part of an effort by the administration of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio to enable local communities to create and embrace new public spaces, and support small businesses by prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists. The first local implementation of the idea was on Pearl Street between Broad Street and Hanover Square, which was conceived in partnership with the Downtown Alliance.