Pedestrian Plazas, Bike Lanes Are Vulgar Scourge, Post Rants

In the past week, the DOT has revealed details about two bold new plans to create pedestrian plazas in high-traffic parts of Manhattan. As part of a proposed 34th Street Transitway, a pedestrian plaza would be created on the block between Fifth Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas. Further downtown, the DOT wants to turn a block of Broadway north of Union Square into another pedestrian plaza, which would extend along East 17th Street to the eastern corner of the park, at Park Avenue South. But the two proposed changes have come at a price: the fragile inner serenity of NY Post columnist Steve Cuozzo.

Cuozzo—the tabloid's official Curmudgeon-in-Chief—previously blasted the DOT for turning part of Broadway in Times Square into a pedestrian plaza. (He believes the transformation hurt Broadway's "dynamic commercial nexus.") Now these latest plaza plans have him seething, and he is so much fun when he's cranky:

The DOT's rationale seems to be that the existing [express bus] lanes don't work well because some motorists ignore the rules by driving and even parking in them. Of course, there's a solution that would cost a lot less than $30 million: build a fence. But that elegantly simple remedy would get in the way of [DOT Commissioner] Sadik-Khan's campaign to transform throbbing Manhattan into a Copenhagen-like lolling ground.
Her ever-proliferating bicycle lanes not only look dreadful, they're hardly used; I've counted as few as a dozen riders per half hour, mostly Chinese-food deliverymen, in the lanes on Grand Street, Ninth Avenue and Broadway. Her Times Square "plazas" are even worse—block after block of prison-yard asphalt devoid of meaningful landscaping, furniture or other amenities, crowded mainly with Big Mac-chomping tourists. Not only are they unworthy of their iconic setting, they will be conducive to mugging and "wilding" should there occur even the smallest uptick in street crime on top of the one we've already seen.

Let's see... Scaremongering? Check. Subjective observations presented as proof? Check. Vague generalizing? Check again. And we didn't even get to the part where Cuozzo derides the Union Square plan as "vulgar" and dismisses the 34th Street Transitway as Sadik-Khan's "taxpayer-gouging ego trip." Just read the whole rant for yourself, it's as entertaining as it is irrationally contemptuous.

For balance, we asked Transportation Alternatives' spokesman Wiley Norvell for a counterpoint; he writes, "New York City has 6,000 miles of streets, and it's narrow-minded to think that every inch of them should be all-car, all the time--especially in a place where pedestrians and bus riders outnumber drivers 9 to 1. By cutting traffic injuries and fatalities dramatically, projects like the 34th Street transit-way ultimately save taxpayers money. Remember: every traffic death costs $3 million in emergency response, litigation, medical treatment, etc."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on April 26, 2010 2:48 PM

Comments [rss]

brwnmamba

I'm sorry: but what is wrong with Chinese delivery men using the bike lanes? Is Cuozzo saying Chinese delivery men are not worthy of having a safe path to ride down?

The lack of safe bike & walking paths in NEW YORK CITY is atrocious. People would bike more if it was safer - Cuozzo should ride around Manhattan as a regular person just to see what it is like for himself. (no body guards, no escorts, nothing)

JimboGold853OKG

If you read any Steve Cuozzo writings on food, transportation policy and bikers, you quickly realize he's filled with hate and bile for everyone who isn't white, rich, male and over 50 -- with the exception of the blonde arm candy usually attached to said men. On the other hand, he's a decent commercial real estate writer, though not in the class of Lois Weiss, Charles Bagli or many others.

Instigator

I cannot wait for two things to happen:

First, a death attributed to poor response time of emergency personnel because traffic was restricted to a single lane and the city became ‘car unfriendly.’ Whether it be police, fire or ambulance – if there is simply no place to pull over traffic will get worse.

Perhaps it will be a militant bicyclist (one can only hope).

Second, the city starts handing out tickets to all the bicyclists who fail to heed the rules of the road, ride on the sidewalk, ride the wrong way in a clearly marked bike lane, ride outside of the bike lane, ignore a traffic signal and a whole host of other infractions city bike riders seem to think they are above obeying. Nice, big, fat, juicy $200 dollar tickets like the ones that get placed on car windshields for overtime parking.

Less cars, less revenue and the money has to come from somewhere... bikers, you're next.

spiritross

This is my favorite part of gothamist - when they apply a random Simpsons image to an article.

John Del Signore

Mine too!

lostwallet

Lemmieguess. He drives to work.

oinonio

Or is driven.

yttrstein

Who the fuck calls it "avenue of the americas"?

dreamking

People over 60 who grew up and raised families in the city, like my grandparents.

Thespis

Anyone who has to give directions to out of towners a lot, or anyone who lives or works on it and has to give their address regularly. It is the official name of the street, after all.

I still prefer to call it Sixth -- not because of any pre-1940's nostalgia, but rather because Avenue of the Americas is just waaaaaay too long of a name. But I have to refer to it as AvofAm often enough that I'll sometimes reflexively use it even in other contexts.

Manitoba

Lots of people... my father stills refers to the subway as the IRT, BMT, etc. I also only refer to the Brooklyn Bridge on ramp as the Ari Halberstram Memorial Ramp.

horseplay

People having to camp out overnite for 15$ an hour jobs, unemployment is still up, a "de-creasing police force" with an "in-creasing crime rate", the closings of many firehouses and layoffs of firefighters in a city with 8 million stories, kids on the brink of losing student passes to get their education.... But hey, im sure that these 30+ million $ pedestrian plazas will lead us to better days in nyc

MrManhattan

Well if that one-time investment leads to higher retail sales (sales tax revenue) higher property values (more real estate taxes), greater pedestrian safety (lower EMT expenses) and less air pollution (lower hospital costs), I could see it paying itself off in a matter of years, and we'd have a more pleasant, livable city as a "free bonus".

horseplay

You know, i dont know why people keep calling it pedestrian plazas. What they really should be called are tourist plazas. Why? How many NY'ers will you find down there sitting on a lawn chair in the middle of the streets? About as many NY'ers that you'll find in times square with cameras hanging off their necks. NONE!... No one (NY'ers or buisnesses) will benefit from it, unless you're a tourist because only tourists are fascinated with stupid shit like this

MrManhattan

Maybe once, you should go to Times Square and pretend to be a tourist and LOOK UP. What you'll see are called "office buildings" and lots of people work there. Same with 34th Street, same with Union Square. If you can't bring yourself to use your two feet, you could always rent a convertible.

Even on the "tourist level" you seem to be so obsessed with, there are lots of things for "native" New Yorkers. The Iridium Jazz Club and BB Kings (probably the best small live room left after NYU took the Bottom Line) are there. While I'm not a big fan, I know there are tons of non-Disney theater productions, and a couple of world famous comedy clubs.

And as for your attitude about tourists in general, yes they're (in general) fatter, slower and less culturally developed than I am (although I wonder about you), but they CHOOSE to spend their vacation time, AND MONEY here, and especially after 9/11, I've tried to end every encounter with them with a "thanks for coming, I hope you enjoy yourself". What good is it to live in the greatest city in the world if you don't get to show it off?

horseplay

Well, as i mentioned in another article, my dislike for tourists comes from the fact that there are thousands of them, if not millions, that come to ground zero not to show respect, but to pose for pictures in front of it which is totally disrepectful and shows their ignorance to the tragedy that accured there. Its a location where over 2000 people died. Its not times square or the cathedral ect ect.. But i guess they have as much respect for ground as the city does, which by the way the city seems to plan on cashin in on that. Look at what they are building down there. Does it seem like the city is dedicating it all to the victims?

MrManhattan

So we shouldn't improve New York for New Yorkers; increase commerce, improve safety, and help clear the air of noise and air pollution because some tourists take pictures of themselves in front of Ground Zero.

Well that certainly makes sense, why did it take six posts to get there?

I'm beginning to think you work for the Orlando Florida Chamber of Commerce.

horseplay

Ooookkk. So your saying that 30+ million$ to reduce air polution and noise and increasing commerce is our urgent priority? Verses increasing our police force in a time when crime is continuing to increase, reopen firehouses and hire more fire fighters so people dont burn alive? Or using those millions so children can get their student pases to get their education? In our economic state, pedestrian plazas are gonna make it safer for NY'ers and help bring our police officers and fire fighters back and get these kids their education? Ok, orlando it is... By the way, are you a tourist?

MrManhattan

So we're back to economics, fine. My point in that respect is that an INVESTMENT in improved infrastructure will yield greater tax revenue and reduce unnecessary costs which will pay for the public services we all need. (while also creating the non-economic benefits of a more livable environment for all).

Re-read my 6:14pm post. By creating increased tax revenue, and decreasing avoidable expenditures, the City will have MORE revenue to pay for all the worthy/desirable/necessary services you cite. All of your examples of what the City needs to spend money on only further reinforce my argument.

horseplay

Wow, i would call you delusional, but that would be a slight upgrade from where you're at with this now. Where have you been for the past 81/2 years or so? Your idiology is extremely difficult to grasp. So lets say that your points, which you claim i reinforce, do infact benefit NY'ers in the fashion you have stated, how long would it be before those benefits actually kick in? Oohh i would say atleast 10-15 years. And NY'ers and children in the mean time, are supose to live with few police officers, few firefighters, children not able to get their education which will result in more street activity in times when crime is already surging, people have to burn alive because the firehouse that used to be 2blocks away is now closed and the next nearest one is 2miles away?