A massive turnout of Lower Manhattan residents in support of the popular Canal Street open street was not enough to prevent organizers from trimming the car-free program's operating times in response to a handful of foes backed by the city's revanchist tabloid.
Members of Manhattan's Community Board 3 voted overwhelmingly to endorse continuing the open street on two blocks of Canal, between Essex and Orchard streets, following a marathon public feedback session at a committee meeting of the civic panel.
"We don’t have as much open space as other communities around the city," said Vincent Cirrito, chairperson of CB 3's Transportation, Public Safety, Sanitation & Environment Committee on Tuesday night. "This is an open space for our residents, for our kids. I’m raising three boys here in the Lower East Side, and having open streets is a place for them to go where they don’t have to worry about vehicles and cars."
Dozens of people packed into a cramped basement community facility on Rivington Street to celebrate how the open street has helped local business flourish since the pandemic. But a group of residents, dubbed Neighbors on Canal, has fought against the initiative, complaining about noise lasting late into the night, public urination, and other detritus from revelers, grievances gleefully amplified by the pro-car New York Post.
In the hopes of appeasing the critics, the open street's organizers cut the days from seven to four, operating from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. instead of 11 p.m., and they shaved seven weeks off of their open street season, which will last from April 24 through October.
"In response to listening to our community, we’ve made meaningful changes to the program over this year," said Nialls Fallon, director of the Canal Streets Merchants Association and a co-owner of the restaurant Cervo's. "We’re a part of this community and care for it deeply."
The vast majority of residents at the meeting said the open street has been a boon to the area.
"It’s offered a 'third space' for residents, it’s provided a place where neighbors with disabilities can safely walk and dine and socialize. It’s kept our storefronts occupied at a time when Lower Manhattan is suffering from the highest commercial vacancy rates in the city," said Sam Zimmerman. "Having a place to walk without cars has been really wonderful."
Another resident who said she relied on outdoor seating as an immunocompromised person.
"Open streets with tons of seating remove a huge barrier," said Rachel Wilkerson. "Please keep this program intact because we all deserve to participate in public life in our city."
However, others were not as enthused. A representative for Neighbors on Canal dropped off a dossier of alleged 311 complaints, letters, and a printed copy of the Post's story, and questioned the open street's benefits.
"You say it’s a net positive? I don’t know, I mean that’s a pretty bold statement," said Bruce Torrey. "You want me to show you the picture of the guy pissing in my plant?"
If indeed there is a major quality-of-life problem occurring on Canal Street, it's not showing up in city data. According to NYC Open Data, there were just 18 complaints of public urination phoned into 311 in the entire 10002 ZIP code between Jan. 1 and April 8 of this year. Not a single one was on Canal Street — and 16 of them were connected to a residential building at 107 Clinton Street, which is not near the open street.
Crunching the data further, there have been 86 complaints to 311 linked to addresses on Canal Street so far this year. The plurality of those few complaints — 16, or 18 percent — were for graffiti, while only 12 complaints, or 14 percent, were for noise on the sidewalk or from a commercial establishment.
Members of the neighborhood group, which demanded further reduction in open street hours to 9 p.m., also rallied against the local restaurant Le Dive, and the area's Council Member Chris Marte channeled the complaints to veto the eatery's sidewalk seating.
Another resident, who said she lives just above Le Dive and the bar Clandestino, railed against the humdrum of activity outside her building.
"There is drug dealing going on across the street from me, there are skateboarders going up and down the street endlessly because it’s closed. The quality of life is horrible," said Anne Winniger. "There are 200 people partying in front of my building, I was given no voice in this originally."
But other longtime residents noted that the Lower East Side has struggled with grime for decades, and called on the city to not rid the streets of one of the few silver linings that came out of the pandemic, when New Yorkers reclaimed swaths of streets as public space.
"There was problems with urination on the streets before open streets, and on the Lower East Side, if you have a lot of bars, people are going to do things that they shouldn’t do," said Michael Klawans, a resident of 25 years. "This is what’s beautiful about going to other cities as well, you see it in Paris, you see it in Havana, and I don’t know why we’re so hell-bent on preventing people from just gathering together and enjoying themselves."
The board's committees voted 13 in favor and just one opposed for the open street, along with a dozen other open streets in the downtown district, but none of the others inspired as much debate.
