Good morning and welcome to today's hearing of the New York City Council's Transportation Committee. I am Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the committee, and I am joined by my colleagues on the committee.
Before we begin, I would like to thank in advance Commissioner Trottenberg and her Deputy Commissioner for Inter-Governmental Affairs, Jeff Lynch, for their support and partnership in helping to make Earth Day-Friday, April 22nd-this year, a Car Free Day in New York City. As the DOT has worked to transform more of our unused or misused street space into lively plazas, we hope that this initiative will get more people thinking about how we use our streets and how we move about the city.
Today the Committee will consider Proposed Intro 1109-A which would provide the Department of Transportation with authority to regulate pedestrian plazas, including the ability to promulgate rules of conduct and to issue event permits. This bill is co-sponsored by Council Members Johnson, Garodnick, Lander, Torres, Chin and myself.
Since the launch of the City's Pedestrian Plaza program in 2008, plazas have become an indelible part of the streetscape in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. We are fortunate to have 53 plazas currently in use, with 20 in development and more to come. They often serve important functions, as a haven for pedestrians to take a break from the fast paced world around them. In a city where so much of our street space is devoted exclusively to vehicles, plazas are an important tool that allows the City to reclaim certain areas for the use and enjoyment of pedestrians. As a City which prides itself on being a walkable and pedestrian-friendly place, many New Yorkers have embraced plazas in their neighborhoods for contributing to the important balance between driving, biking, and walking that we are continuously seeking to strike on our streets. Plazas have also been found to contribute to reductions in vehicular travel time and traffic-related injuries in surrounding areas.
In communities throughout the City, pedestrian plazas serve as valuable outdoor gathering places, and in exceptionally busy corridors such as Times Square, they relieve the pressure of large crowds from more traditional narrow sidewalks, giving our 8 million New Yorkers and 59 million tourists alike, more room both to get where they are going and to enjoy some of the city's most iconic locations.
Recently, following widespread attention focused on the wide variety of activities taking place in busy plazas such as Times Square, including the over-aggressive solicitation of tips, which sometimes creates an unruly atmosphere, a City-appointed task force issued a series of recommendation aimed at managing and organizing plazas in ways that would maximize the productive use and enjoyment of these precious spaces by all users. These recommendations formed the basis for the legislation we are considering today. By allowing DOT to regulate activity in plazas like Times Square, but also all those around the five boroughs, we will be given these treasured spaces the designation they deserve as unique public spaces; islands of calm in a storm of activity.
To be clear, this legislation is not directed toward any particular group or set of individuals. We will not be putting anyone out of business, nor will we harshly limit the extent of activity that many engage in to support themselves or their families. We know that the majority of costumed characters, of the desnudas and all others who have graced the front pages of our city's tabloids, are hard-working New Yorkers as well. However, we know that there are a number of bad actors whose actions have prompted concern for our residents and visitors and for this reason, we find that passing this bill will provide for greater structure and a regulatory framework to support all those who use our busiest and even not-so-busy plazas across our great city.
I understand that the narrative around this legislation has focused primarily on the Disney and other costumed characters in Times Square. A small number of these individuals have hurt the reputation of the many hard-working men and women that help to make Times Square an interesting and exciting place. We believe that it will in fact help in the end, as more people will feel comfortable knowing they are in a well regulated and safe space. But I also want to stress that today we are talking about all of our plazas-how to protect and support them, and how to make them even more attractive to New Yorkers and our visitors alike.
We look forward to hearing testimony on the proposed legislation from a wide variety of organizations and individuals today. Before we do, I would very much like to thank all of the stakeholders who have worked tirelessly on this important issue over the past few months, including the de Blasio Administration, Speaker Mark-Viverito, the Times Square Alliance, the BID Association and my colleagues and co-sponsors.
