Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Will Broadway Pedestrian Plazas DOOM Times Square?
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 22, 2009
Modified Aug 22, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 22, 2009
Modified Aug 22, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
It's not just unhinged Andrea Peyser at the NY Post who hates the Broadway pedestrian plazas; Steve Cuozzo at the NY Post hates 'em, too! As the Bloomberg administration gets ready to decide whether or not to keep these blocks of Broadway car-free, the tabloid is going all out to turn the masses against the plazas. Thus Sprach Cuozzo:
Closing Broadway to vehicular traffic between 42nd and 47th Streets has left us with slow-moving hordes of sightseers sprawled across asphalt-paved, cheaply furnished pedestrian "plazas." For all the energy this has sucked out of the fabled "bowtie," it's hardly a matter of esthetics alone. This used to be Midtown's most dynamic commercial nexus. But Times Square office leasing has fallen on hard times, with fewer deals being made and lots of space soon to be vacant.
Companies come and go for many reasons, but it's clear Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan's brainstorm isn't helping. "You might as well be at a mall in Paramus," an accomplished Midtown real-estate executive told me... One commercial real-estate broker told Crain's recently that his Times Square clients were fed up with "throngs of tourists on the streets," and looking elsewhere as a result.
Arghh, the sky is falling! Tourists are bringing the tumbleweeds! The absence of Times Square gridlock has driven away business! Dick Clark might as well just broadcast the New Year's Eve show from a mall in New Jersey! Also, Cuozzo has to rap more tourists with his cane on his walk to work!
Tagged
broadway pedestrian plazas
new york post
nyc
steve cuozzo
Times Square
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 4:15 p.m. ET
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
News
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
The Garden State now requires that corn masa dough and flour made and sold in the state be fortified with folic acid.
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
NYC nor’easter dries up after weather service reports minor flooding
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .