And of course in the true spirit of Spirit he is consistently pompous, unrealistic and wrong.

Typical Snoopy. The "comments shown above" against Summer Streets reflect the repeated bitching of three whiners.

#38- Shaky assumptions? Do you REALLY think I'm bitching about this just for the sake of?

Touchy Touchy I see. But the fact is what are the supporting facts that businesses did better by closing the streets?

Given the hours that the streets were closed when basically no one is around anyway on the weekends does not make a good argument for extending the days or the hours for doing same.

The Edge, I did lose job as a bartender 5 years ago because the City instituted a smoking ban, but I have to admit that, while the change was difficult for me personally, the City is better and healthier with that rule in place.

But that's besides the point. I'm not sure anybody owns a business that was negatively impacted by Summer Streets. Show me one shred of numerical evidence that any business on that route did lower than normal sales for a Saturday morning in August. And if you point at that barber in midtown who was quoted in the times saying most of his customers drive in for haircuts on Saturday mornings, I will laugh.

With no data to support your argument, you curse me and slander me based on conjecture and your own shaky assumptions - truly the mark of an ignoramus. I'm not against businesses and their concerns, I'm against crotchety gadflys like you that oppose good ideas not based on substance or on merit, but by crying the plight of the poor individual and painting a dramatic picture of devastation - a base tactic and, thankfully in this case, one that will go ignored.

As for thefacts, you predictably have parroted even more rhetoric. bravo.

It appears that Spirit's "Unofficial Poll" doesn't reflect in the comments shown above.

#34

If you're hungry, you're out of luck.

I don't feed trolls.

#34- Hey asshole, do you own a business that was negatively impacted by Summer Streets?

Do you even pretend to care?

No, you'd rather be dancing around in the streets singing kumbaya twirling streamers around your head with the sunlight shining through, right? Because that's all that matters to you.

Douche.

thefacts you do have a flair for the dramatic. residents and business had two months notice there would be a temporary 5-hour restriction to motor vehicle access on 3 Saturday mornings. you make it sound like Summer Streets crept in the open window and stole their babies during the night. YOU are the expert on propaganda:

oh the residents! oh the businesses! congestion! honking! dangerous bikers! tax paying citizens!

isn't there any more rhetoric you can parrot? any more organizations or sympathetic characters you can pretend to represent? what about the working mother trying to sleep on Saturday morning? what about the disabled homeless orphan trying to hobble into a taxi? what about the artists living in lofts in Soho to whom all of New York City owes so much?

If we lived in your twisted vision of New York there would be no parades, no street fairs, no public enjoyment of any kind. every property owner, no - even property renters, would have full individual authority over what activities are permitted in front of their parcel no matter how many people enjoyed it. all of our streets would be quiet and empty, with no bars and no tourists, and ample vehicle access, just like General Motors drew up for us at the 1964 World's Fair.

cities, I'm afraid, by their very nature are filled with noise and conflict and events and impromptu experiences and inconveniences and fun. you obviously have grown cranky and you have lost your love for what makes New York vital and exciting. so why then do you continue to live here? why do you plant yourself in a loud, hectic, ever-shifting environment and then fight and rage against its nature? why do you insist on cultivating antagonism and why do you seek to snuff out boisterous merriment wherever it arises?

in short, what is your f*cking problem?

#32

The CBs didn't notify businesses because the DOT purposely avoided notifying the CBs, because DOT knew from past experiences these silly 'street' events draw out large crowds of residents and businesses in opposition, thwarting DOT's schemes.

That is what happened when DOT tried to close Prince Street all summer. People came en masse to the CB meetings and DOT had to withdraw their plan.

Wiser, DOT substituted this "summer streets" and didn't tell the community boards till the last minute, when it was already a done deal.

Sadik-Khan = Robert Moses on a Bike

#30- The CB's also didn't even bother to run this by quite a few businesses ("You should have came to the meetings." -- which they hardly, if ever, advertise to businesses or residents.

That shit they did to Broadway they want to do on Grand street, to make it a east/west throughway for cyclists. What the fuck?

I hardly ever see cyclists on Grand street, so I have NO idea how they think this'll be a good idea as I know for a fact this would be extremely detrimental for many, many businesses along the way.

It's not that I'm anti-cyclist, but these guys seem to love to bitch and whine so they can have "fun".

Why can't people just go to the park? Streets were built for cars (and bicycles), not pedestrians. Sidewalks are for pedestrians. I ride my bike to work everyday, the novelty of riding down park ave. must be lost on me. I can't imagine preferring to ride my bike through Manhattan streets when I could go to the park.

Streets were built so that military vehicles could get across the country quickly. They are used mainly by the citizenry because it is convenient.

#28

I agree with you that the businesses were inconvenienced, but the Gothamist poll failed to include the inconvenience to the thousands and thousands of Residents and families on Park and Lafayette and on nearby side streets.

Congestion, honking, failure to get deliveries,inability to pull up one's car to load/unload passengers/materials, dodging speeding bikers just to cross the street, etc.

Residents and businesses pay top dollar in rent and taxes to reside/work here, and these cyclists don't pay a dime for their little street fair, but want MORE of this nonsense in the future.

It's easy to say, "Yeah! This is a great idea!" when it doesn't affect your Neighborhood.

i really enjoyed the chance to meander down park avenue, the weather was beautiful, and everybody seemed to be having a great time. I really like Spiritof76 idea of doing again in october. I actually wandered into a couple of different stores that i didn't know existed and found a new restaurant along the way.

#20- You realize that this thing stretches all the way downtown, right?

You realize that not all the businesses located on the stretch of this thing benefit from this at all?

It seems to me that you think that the small-to-medium sized businesses that this affects should just tough it out. With the economy the way it is, I'm sorry, but that's just fucking ignorant.

Tell the business owners, the employees, and their customers how great it is to have a large stretch of Manhattan closed off for a good portion of the working day just so people can bike.

If you really think that the City's economy can sustain itself purely on walk-in traffic you're just deluding yourself.

It's easy to say, "Yeah! This is a great idea!" when it doesn't affect your livelihood.

If you really want to ride your bike around the city without too much traffic wake up at 5AM and the city is yours-enjoy it. Let the other taxpayers live their lives without this bullshit shoved down our respective throats...

Well the opinions on gothamist are split.

So, why the DOT commissioner surely lied to the NY Times when she told them "I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews,”

A good propagandist does not make a good traffic commissioner.

Ad rocks I actually agree about the park. All the things I listed would be better suited for the park. I like the sound of the idea I guess but I think knowing the real goal would make a difference. If it is just to get people out doing things, I think organizing events in the parks would better serve that.

If the real goal is to try and get more people comfortable riding bikes on manahattan streets and eventually increase ridership as a means of transportation or something I would withdraw my "room for events" idea and use all the space for different speed bike lanes.

I guess my back and forth view of this event is because I am not really sure what the specific goals are.

First, I think the other closed streets might have been to prevent one ways from going down into a dead end at the closing or something but I don't know that, just guessing.

I didn't mean for my sarcastic comment to make it seem like I don't like the idea or am against it. I like the idea but not every week and not always the same street. I just felt like the point was a little lost (from a pedestrian standpoint) on Park. The sidewalks are 15 feet wide as it is. Having the street open really didn't do anything for people who were just walking.

I think there needs to be a real effort to restrict adult bikers to a dedicated lane (with cones or something but big enough to still encourage bike use!!) and try to leave enough room where people can use the rest of the street for activities. Small kids with bikes or trikes, frisbee tossing, chalk art, jump roping, break dancing, whiffle ball, hoop rolling, etc. From a pure pedestrian view there is really no point to having the street closed. I have never felt claustrophobic enough walking on sidewalks that I felt like I needed the whole street.

Why can't people just go to the park? Streets were built for cars (and bicycles), not pedestrians. Sidewalks are for pedestrians. I ride my bike to work everyday, the novelty of riding down park ave. must be lost on me. I can't imagine preferring to ride my bike through Manhattan streets when I could go to the park.