Welcome to Friday Open Threads, wherein we'll pass the mic to readers to speak up about topics of interest, distress, horror, etc. Have something you want discussed? Let us know.
Earlier this week, City Council member Antonio Reynoso made an offhand, but rather interesting, comment in a public meeting about the Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX), per DNAInfo: "How about we shut Bedford [Avenue] down and make it a plaza?"
While the likelihood of Bedford Avenue being shut down to cars is extremely slim, as plans for the BQX (inexplicably) move forward, so too do the decisions on where, exactly, the streetcar would travel. Bedford Avenue, one of the main arteries of Williamsburg (and also its most tourist-clogged street), could be used a pathway for the streetcar, or as a right-of-way.
The thoroughfare has been closed off to traffic before, and will do so again on June 11th and 12th as part of the Northside Festival's annual Williamsburg Walks event. But a permanent pedestrian plaza there could dramatically change the character of the neighborhood, altering its real estate, retail prospects, and more.
With all that in mind, sound off in the comments: Is that something you'd want to see happen? And if not Bedford Avenue, are there other NYC streets you think should be made pedestrian-only?
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