It's gonna be a scorcher today, the first day of Williamsburg Walks -- where the neighborhood creates a pedestrian-only zone on Bedford Avenue between Metropolitan and North 9th Street.
Metro reports on a local artist who will be on hand that may be feeling the heat a little bit more than others. Yvette Helin dresses in all black, depicting the walk symbols one might see on a traffic sign; today she'll be a pedestrian crossing stick figure.
The professional costume designer first launched the “Pedestrian Project” in 1989, taking to the city streets with a troupe of costumed volunteers. She eventually traveled the globe with the piece. But she hasn’t performed as a stick figure in New York since the year 2000 at the Museum of Modern Art. After 9/11, the project “felt wrong” to her.
Helin was encouraged by the Community Board “because it promotes walking in an iconic, fun way that’s true to the spirit of Williamsburg’s off-beat arts culture.” She hopes to get more folks on board for future Saturdays, but noted that the first time around it will just be her, and possibly a pedestrian baby, noting: “That’s what you do in Willamsburg now. The breeders are all buying the new condos.”
The stretch of Bedford will be without cars from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m, every Saturday through August 9th.
