Open These 16 West Manhattan Streets To Pedestrians, Pols Say

MANHATTAN, NY — The latest call to close down certain city streets so that New Yorkers have ample space to maintain social distance during the coronavirus pandemic proposes opening 16 streets on Manhattan's west side to pedestrians, according to a letter sent last week.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and several elected officials urged Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Transportation to open certain blocks between West 15th and West 56th streets to pedestrians so that they have more room to get fresh air during the stay-at-home order, which was extended until May 15 on Thursday.

The proposal follows a similar idea from Brewer to pedestrianize Broadway by using local community groups to enforce the street closures instead of NYPD resources, a sticking point in the mayor's resistance to creating car-free zones.

"Local community boards and block associations are ready to help implement plans in their neighborhoods and create safe spaces for pedestrians while ensuring that residents, deliveries and essential and emergency services can pass through," the elected officials wrote.

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The west side street closures, compiled by Manhattan Community Board 4, would include a block of closures west of Sixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan and another three zones in Midtown west of Eighth Avenue.

The elected officials argue that all non-local, non-emergency traffic can be rerouted to nearby major crosstown streets by putting cones and signs to warn drivers. Residents will be spread out enough that they can move aside easily should an essential vehicle need to pass through, the letter says.

Here are the proposed streets:

• 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 21st and 22nd streets; from Sixth Avenue to the West Side Highway
• 35th, 36th and 37th streets; from Eighth to Eleventh Avenue
• 43rd, 44th, 45th and 46th streets; from Eighth to Twelfth Avenue
• 51st, 53rd and 56th streets; from Eighth to Eleventh Avenue

Brewer's plan for Broadway proposes pedestrianizing the street between Union Square and Central Park.

Transit advocates have also appealed to the mayor to close down city streets during the coronavirus pandemic. Their list, compiled by Bike New York and Transportation Alternatives, includes zones around hospitals, those that are closed to cars at other points in the year and those in neighborhoods that aren't within walking distance to a park.

De Blasio has so far resisted the proposals.

The mayor scuttled his own pilot program to establish small car-free zones in Brooklyn, Manhattan, The Bronx and Queens earlier this month and, just this week, shut down questions about replicating programs from other cities by saying New York is "profoundly different" than other parts of the country.

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