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Common Sense Wins: CB 12 Approves Plaza for Haven Avenue in Washington Heights
Last night Manhattan Community Board 12 signed off on a plan to build a public plaza on a segment of Haven Avenue outside NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights.
June 27, 2018
London’s Aldgate Square Goes From Stressful Traffic Circle to Great Public Space
London has embarked on an ongoing quest to remake its busiest districts with high-quality public space, taking real estate that used to belong to cars and designing areas where people come first and drivers behave accordingly. The Aldgate project is the latest example.
June 25, 2018
NYPD Surrounds Flatiron Plaza With Concrete Barriers, Because Terrorism
Sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning, NYPD surrounded Flatiron Plaza, where Broadway crosses Fifth Avenue, with concrete barriers. Similar barriers could be coming to public spaces throughout the city in the name of NYPD's counterterror initiatives.
July 18, 2017
Civic Groups Renew Call for Streets That Support Public Expression
After a larger than expected turnout for the Women's March over the weekend, Transportation Alternatives and other civic organizations reiterated their call for Mayor de Blasio to make major streets and public spaces more amenable to public demonstrations.
January 24, 2017
A Plea for de Blasio to Support Free Expression With Better Public Spaces
With New Yorkers aching to make themselves heard by the incoming president, a coalition of planning and advocacy groups wants Mayor de Blasio to improve public access to key streets and gathering places. Among other recommendations, the groups urge the mayor to turn Fifth Avenue and 14th Street into pedestrian and transit zones.
January 12, 2017
Paris to Return Its Great Public Squares to the People
If you look at paintings from the pre-automotive era, Paris's monumental public squares were full of people strolling comfortably. But over time, car traffic has consumed most of these squares.
September 19, 2016
Eyes on the Street: The Return of “Plaza 33” — Maybe for Good
"Plaza 33" is back, transforming the eastern half of 33rd Street between Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue into a car-free public space -- and it's set to remain indefinitely.
July 21, 2016
Eyes on the Street: Early Spring Means Earlier “Street Seats”
Despite this weekend’s snow forecast, for a few days there it felt freakishly like spring. Yet another sign of winter’s demise is the reemergence of DOT’s “Street Seats.”
March 2, 2016
Trottenberg Announces Plaza Equity Program at Plaza de Las Americas Reveal
Just eight months after the groundbreaking ceremony, officials held a ribbon-cutting this morning at Plaza de Las Americas, an impressive new public space in Washington Heights. Also today, Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg announced a City Hall initiative to assist plazas in neighborhoods without the resources of a major business improvement district.
November 23, 2015