Petrosino Square to Expand Into Lafayette Street

Interestingly, the loudest round of applause from the crowd of local residents, many elderly Italian citizens, appeared to come during [Council Member] Alan Gerson's remarks regarding freeing up useless road space on Lafayette St. for community use. "Today is an historic day as we transfer a lane of pavement to more space for an expanded park -- space for the people who appreciate the neighborhood and space for public art."

Though long-time Little Italy residents might not appreciate the impact of crowd- and traffic-attracting street festivals, the value ofproper use of public space hasn't been completely lost on this audience.