Mayor Eric Adams unveils largest holiday season Open Streets program ever
NEW YORK - Just in time for the holiday season, New York City is rolling out its largest-ever Open Streets plan.
For the first time in half a century, part of Fifth Avenue will be car-free.
As CBS2's Dick Brennan reports, the holiday season has hit Midtown, and it's beginning to look a lot like gridlock, both in the streets and on the sidewalks.
"Luckily I'm not driving. I can't really push cars out of the way, but I can get through a crowd pretty well," Midtown resident Jacob Moore said.
But the city has a solution, at least for those people on the sidewalks.
The Open Streets program has come to Fifth Avenue. From 48th to 57th Street, the street will be car-free on Sundays Dec. 4, 11 and 18 from noon to 6 p.m.
"If it's wider, that would be great. Don't get me wrong. I think everyone would want that," one person said.
"I think expanding the sidewalk is really nice for people who wanna get a chance to see the tree but can't really drive around," another person said.
That's not all; after the Rockefeller Center tree lighting on Nov. 30 and lasting through mid-January, moveable barriers will be placed on the sides of Fifth and Sixth avenues to add more space for pedestrians. At that time, West 49th and 50th between Fifth and Sixth will be pedestrians only from 11 a.m. until midnight.
Drivers are not amused.
"This time is totally tough time because it's not normal time," one driver said.
"I don't like it ... Definitely slows me down," another driver said.
The city says the program is all about safety.
"We're really doing this to ease the crowding, and we want to insure that people can see these iconic holiday window displays and that it's just a pleasant and safe holiday environment," Manhattan City Council member Carlina Rivera said.
Rivera says this will give local businesses a shot in the arm, too.
"There's data to prove that Open Streets helps small businesses. It certainly helped our hospitality industry to survive and now be on its way to fully recovering," she said.
Crosstown buses, meanwhile, will have to maneuver around the street closures.
New York City Transit released the following statement in response to the plan:
"We are aware of the City's press release announcing closings and partial closings of Fifth Avenue in coming weeks, and are working with them to create a plan that mitigates the impact to New Yorkers who rely on buses to get where they need to go. In the meantime, we will also be working with the City to establish and preserve a dedicated safe bus travel lane on Fifth Avenue throughout the holidays."
The NYPD will be monitoring and close down streets if crowds get out of control.
