Grab your trunks and inflate your inner tubes, because Times Square is getting a "river." Brooklyn-based artist Molly Dilworth beat out 150 other artists for the commission to paint the pedestrian plazas on Broadway from 47th to 42nd Streets. Her "temporary" design, titled "Cool Water, Hot Island," is composed of a graphical representation of NASA's infrared satellite data of Manhattan. Here's why she won, according to the DOT: more ›

Since his recent announcement that seven blocks of Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square would be made permanent car-free oases, Mayor Bloomberg has hinted that this is only the beginning of motor vehicle banishment: "I think it’s encouraging that we’re getting merchants from other parts of the city saying, 'Can you please do this for us as well?'" So what neighborhood will be next to kiss cars goodbye? The DOT isn't talking, and recent rumors that Bedford Avenue's "Williamsburg Walks" closures would be made permanent are just that—rumors. But to fan the flames, the Post asked some transportation advocates what crazy changes they'd like to see: more ›

In announcing his decision to make permanent a pilot program that transformed seven blocks of Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square into pedestrian oases, Mayor Bloomberg emphasized one favorable data set, culled from G.P.S. info from more than 1 million taxi trips, showing an overall seven percent increase in vehicle speeds. But another study, conducted by drivers the DOT hired to travel straight on a selection of streets, told quite a different story. more ›

Goodbye FOREVER, cars! Last May the DOT introduced an innovative pilot program that closed seven blocks of Broadway in Times Square and Herald Square to vehicular traffic, transforming the space into 2½ acres of new urban pedestrian oases. The primary stated objective was to ease traffic congestion along Sixth and Seventh Avenues, allowing drivers to spend less time at stoplights at intersections with Broadway. And although the DOT's study, released today, shows that the goal was only partially met, Mayor Blooomberg has decided that the pedestrian plazas will be made permanent. more ›

Polllsters at Quinnipiac checked in with New Yorkers on some quality of life issues that have been in the news lately. A couple months into the Broadway pedestrian mall experiment, city residents are still supportive of the mayor's initiative—though they like it best from a distance. The mayor seems to generally be in good shape on the issues asked about—New Yorkers stood behind him on control of the schools as well. The city's real enemy, not surprisingly, is the MTA. Here are some of the results from the poll taken last week: more ›

The Times Square Alliance has started rolling out the upgraded look of the pedestrian malls that have taken over the center of the city with brand new seating and even some greenery to really get tourists in the true lounging spirit. The Alliance said that the new seats were "more typical of outdoor furniture" and the Post is calling them "classy." And what screams classy more than sitting inside a giant baseball glove chair? (Let's hope that Beetlejuice doesn't find his way over to the Theater District!) Also arriving at the closed-off sections of Broadway to replace the original eyesore, death trap lawn chairs are silver benches made for two, so get ready to catch some PDA in your periphery while averting your eyes from the Naked Cowboy. The center of the roadway also now will have a Zelkova or oak trees surrounded by "dozens of other small plants." Not everyone loves the new European look though, with one woman from Austin telling the Post, "I wanted to see taxi-to-taxi gridlock and grittiness. I didn't expect to see trees in the middle of the street." Great, now even tourists want the nasty old Times Square back. more ›

Whaddaya know, those oh-so-controversial cheap lawn chairs scattered through the Broadway pedestrian plazas are falling apart! WCBS was on the scene yesterday to report on the disintegrating seats, and confirmed that the plastic straps holding them together are frayed and snapping! Critics have been dissing the chairs, bought at Pintchik Hardware in Brooklyn, since they first appeared, for supposedly attracting the homeless, the lazy, and the European. And now the haters have new ammo, because these things are obviously a grave safety hazard. Floridian tourist Norma Frank saw a chair collapse under her husband Mitch yesterday, and pleaded with New Yorkers for help, "If anybody would like to chip in for a new pair of pants and possibly a new knee..." Mitch insists he wasn't "really" injured, but sometimes it takes a lawyer to show you where it hurts. The Times Square BID will be replacing the chairs with sturdier street furniture by the end of the month, so get over there now if you want in on the inevitable class action lawsuit. more ›

It's almost the end of the road for those cheap lawn chairs scattered throughout the Broadway pedestrian plazas. After incurring enormous vitriol from likes of NY Post columnist Andrea Peyser, who condemned "the flimsy furniture that littered the streets like a going-out-of-business sale," the Times Square Alliance is finally taking action to appease the haters. Some new signs have been placed around the car-free sections of Broadway to explain what the future holds:

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