New Initiative Aims To Bring Foot Traffic Back To The Village

GREENWICH VILLAGE, NY — An initiative designed to promote Greenwich Village business, history, and community is kicking off on April 15 and will last through the beginning of October.

The Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce is about to launch "Live the Village," an effort to help the Lower Manhattan neighborhood bounce back from the lows of the pandemic and bring pre-pandemic levels of foot traffic back to Greenwich Village.

The initiative will include three major events in Greenwich Village, a public arts project, a local business campaign, and a festival that highlights the history of the iconic neighborhood.

"The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the Village in unique ways," said Maria Diaz, the Executive Director of the Chamber, in a news release. "The streets have been the quietest they've ever been, businesses are short-staffed, and many were forced to close their doors, some temporary and some permanently."

"That's why, it's important now more than ever to bring foot traffic back to the Village so that we can support our local businesses and business owners after such a difficult year," she added.

For the first event, the Chamber will partner with Art on the Ave, to install pieces of art in vacant storefront windows throughout Greenwich Village. The installations are meant to encourage community regeneration and elevate local artists and will remain up from April 15 to July 8th.

The second event will be a rebrand of the annual Shop Bleecker campaign, in which local businesses get highlighted and offer discounts on goods. The campaign doesn't have a specific start date, but it will be repurposed from its usual pre-Christmas timeframe to a summertime happening.

The final event will be the Village Trip Festival, which will run from Sept. 18 to Oct. 2.

"The Village Trip festival will shine a light on a neighborhood whose artistic and historical riches are as curious and circuitous as its winding-brick laden streets," said a news release about Live the Village. "This event will give locals and tourists the opportunity to enjoy and learn the history of music, art, and food that makes the village so unique."

You can find out more about the Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce on its website.