On Turning NYC Streets Into A 75-Mile Block Party (Minus The Party)

Other cities are doing it... [View this email in your browser]( Could New York City Create 75 Miles Of Pedestrian-Friendly #CoronaStreets Without Cops On Every Corner? Plus: The L train tunnel construction is continuing during the pandemic, and could wrap up soon. Robberies in the subway system are up. And we remember a subway operator who's one of 83 MTA employees who've died of COVID-19. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) [a police officer stands in front of a barricade blocking off Park Avenue] Scott Lynch/Gothamist If [the parks are too crowded]( and the [sidewalks are too narrow]( for New Yorkers to go outside while keeping six feet away from people, there could be a third option: the roads. After Mayor de Blasio [killed his pilot program]( that temporarily closed 0.06% of the city's blocks, the City Council [proposed]( opening up 75 miles of city streets to pedestrians. The mayor has been skeptical. "I want to make sure anything we do with our streets keeps in mind the following: that we do not put any New Yorkers in danger," [he said last week](. He added that if the plan looks like [the one in Oakland, California]( which restricts vehicle traffic on 74 miles worth of local streets, it's unlikely it could work in New York City. "In Oakland, as I understand it, they said that streets were closed off, but they didn’t put up any barricades," [he continued](. "They didn’t have any enforcement. They just depended on drivers to not go on those streets and everyone to look out and be careful. That's noble ... but we are not comfortable saying that we are going to just assume that [drivers] are going to be safe because that’s [their] good intention." For one, there do appear to be barricades: [a child and an older man ride bikes down a blocked-off street in Oakland] Jeff Chiu/AP But de Blasio is also partly right: Oakland is relying less on police enforcement and more on a psychological nudge to drivers. [No tickets are being issued]( and the streets are technically open for emergency vehicles, delivery vehicles, and local residents. "The bigger idea here is, could we do some interventions to streets that recognize that activity in the road is happening," said Ryan Russo, the director of the Oakland Department of Transportation and one of the architects of the "Slow Streets" plan. "[Could] the local traffic that needed to be on those streets go slow enough that everyone would be safe and a family could go on a bike ride?" While Oakland has 450,000 residents and the density of Staten Island, there's reason to think something like this could still work in a city of 8.6 million people. "Think about how every summer in New York City, there's block parties," said Brooklyn Council Member Brad Lander, who's one of a dozen lawmakers supporting the street closure bill in New York. He added that during the Summer Streets program last year, the city [closed seven miles of roadways in Manhattan for several weekends](. "They put the horses up at one end, the barricades up at the other, and people follow the rules." If the mayor still doesn't sign on to a street-closure program by the time [our pandemic summer]( rolls around, smaller, block party-style events could end up being the ad-hoc way New Yorkers do this. Already, the city has begun to see one-off examples, put in place by everyone from [local cops in Astoria]( to [a guy with a mannequin and a stop sign]( in Crown Heights. "People close streets all the time for different reasons, for construction, for road work and the like, without having police officers at every corner," said Bruce Schaller, a former deputy commissioner at the Department of Transportation. "So I don’t really understand what the mayor’s issue is here." — [Reporting by Ben Yakas and Dylan Campbell]( Meanwhile, The MTA Is Continuing Construction On Hundreds Of Projects During The Pandemic [a woman in a mask takes the temperature of a construction worker]( Trent Reeves/NYC Transit Remember the [L train shutdown-that-wasn't]( which became a months-long [tunnel repair project]( requiring substantial nights-and-weekends service disruptions? It's apparently almost done, and crews are continuing to finish it up now, despite the coronavirus. While most construction in the city has been halted, essential work — including 250 MTA projects — has continued on in modified fashion. In addition to the L train tunnel repairs, the MTA is installing new signals on the E, F, M, and R lines. It's also working on the $11 billion tunnel extension that will allow Long Island Rail Road trains to go into Grand Central. The agency said it's taking new precautions to protect its construction workers and contractors, 95 of whom have tested positive for COVID-19. Only a few workers are allowed in a given area at a time. Crews aren't intermingling. Bathrooms have smaller max capacities. And tools are being disinfected daily, according to the MTA. Technology has also limited the amount of personnel needed on sites. For example, instead of conducting inspections in person, ConEd is monitoring electrical work via a worker with a GoPro. As these projects continue, though, much of the MTA's ambitious, five-year, $51 billion capital plan has been put on hold. With revenue plummeting from decreased ridership, the agency has needed billions of dollars in federal bailout money just to keep the trains running. Janno Lieber, the MTA's president of construction and development, said the subway system is at an "inflection point" in terms of its rebuilding, and more federal funding will be needed to make sure mass transit — and New York City as a whole — bounce back from the coronavirus. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen]( Wear A Face Covering. Everyone (Should Be) Doing It. [an ad from the MTA telling riders to cover their faces with masks] MTA In addition to displaying the above ad on thousands of screens throughout the train and bus network, the MTA is now [broadcasting audio announcements]( telling riders to "wear a face covering as the MTA has observed the majority of its customers already doing." After [telling transit workers]( in early March not to wear masks out of concerns over inciting panic among the public, the MTA eventually started [distributing masks and gloves]( to employees. In a statement, the MTA said it "disregarded federal guidance and began handing out masks to all employees before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later issued new guidance recommending all Americans wear masks." The agency added that it "has also strongly recommended all riders wear a face covering since March 2nd, well in advance of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing guidelines for all Americans to wear masks." Last Friday night, [a statewide order went into effect]( mandating that New Yorkers over the age of 2 wear a face covering when they're in public and unable to stay at least six feet from others. There is no civil penalty for not wearing a face covering, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is considering fines. Here's What Else Is Happening The MTA board on Wednesday officially approved a plan to pay $500,000 to the families of transit workers who die of coronavirus. The agency will also cover health insurance for deceased workers' spouses and dependents for three years. At least 83 MTA employees have now died of COVID-19. ([The Wall Street Journal]( The NYC Transit chief said yesterday that she's "losing patience" with the city's response to homelessness on the subways during the pandemic. "We … urge the city to take more aggressive steps to address this problem," said NYC Transit's interim president, Sarah Feinberg. "It is, without a doubt, a city obligation and responsibility." She added that having homeless New Yorkers and their luggage spread out on subway cars makes it harder for essential workers to practice proper social distancing on their commutes. The city said outreach crews are working "24/7/365" to get people off the trains and into permanent housing. ([New York Post]( Subway robberies are up, according to the NYPD. There were 51 reported robberies last month — up from 33 in March of 2019 — though major felonies in the transit system were down compared to the same period last year. In response, the MTA said it's deploying 70 extra uniformed cops and security guards to patrol its now-desolate stations. Transit leaders said they also considered asking the National Guard to help. ([The City]( Separately, the MTA is still hiring 350 new subway cops, despite facing $8 billion in losses. On top of the 150 police officers already hired this year, the agency will add 150 more in July, and another 200 in December. When asked how the agency is justifying the expense given the massive revenue shortfall during the pandemic, an MTA spokesperson said the new cops factored into the "core mission" of "providing a safe and secure transportation system." ([Gothamist]( NJ Transit bus drivers are demanding hazard pay after two drivers died of COVID-19. The union representing bus operators wants its members classified as "essential workers," which would qualify them for pay that's at least 1.5 times their normal wages. The union also asked for N-95 masks for all workers, the sanitizing of buses and other work stations, and on-site coronavirus testing. So far, at least 256 NJ Transit employees have tested positive for COVID-19. ([NJ.com]( 'She Was Always Talking About Driving A Train': Remembering Subway Operator Darlisa Nesbitt [Darlisa Nesbitt, who died this month of COVID-19, seen here sitting in church] Courtesy of Doris Nesbitt Darlisa Nesbitt, who died of the coronavirus last month at the age of 51, worked for the MTA for more than half her life. "She enjoyed it so much, she was always talking about driving a train," said Darlisa's mother, Doris Nesbitt. The first time her daughter pulled into the station near their home in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Doris raced out to get a picture. "I lived one block from the station," Doris said. "She was on the J line, I took a picture of her coming into the station, oh my, it was just so beautiful." Darlisa, a mother of a 14-year-old and a member of her church's choir, had been living in an apartment below her mother's, running errands for her in the years since her father died. "I just can’t say how much I’m going to miss her because she was really a precious daughter," said Doris. "And jeez, it hurts so bad, but I know she’s in a better place now." [Hear the full remembrance from WNYC](. [the logo for WQXR's classical commute playlist, featuring Mozart sticking his head out of a conductor's window] On (or around) this date in 1564, William Shakespeare was born. In the Bard's honor, our friends at WQXR packed this week's playlist with compositions based on his work. [Stream it for free on Spotify](. Weekend Service Changes: Night of April 24th – Early Morning on April 27th This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. train service between 96 St and 148 St in Manhattan will be replaced by trains and M7 and M102 buses. There will be no trains running overnight. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. [a portrait of James Ramsay] James Ramsay recommends that fans of the WQXR Classical Commute playlist make [the WQXR radio station]( part of their routine! (Photo by Amy Pearl) Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential transportation coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. 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