City Officials Spar Over 5th Ave Holiday Safety Upgrades: Report

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — City officials are mulling plans to widen Fifth Avenue to give pedestrians more room as the block fills up with shoppers during the holiday season, but Mayor Bill de Blasio threw cold water on the plan Thursday, according to reports.

The City Department of Transportation proposal would transform the stretch by taking two vehicle lanes on both sides of Fifth Avenue between 48th and 51st streets into pedestrian-only zones, the New York Post first reported. The pedestrian spaces would be separated from cars by physical barriers, according to the report.

If implemented, the policy would allocate an additional 40 percent of the avenue for pedestrians. About 20,000 pedestrians use Fifth Avenue near Rockefeller Center during the holiday season, the New York Post reported. The area is a big draw for both shopping and sightseeing.

De Blasio told reporters Thursday that the plan was publicized "prematurely" and without his approval, going as far to accuse DOT officials of leaking it to push an agenda. The mayor also admitted that the proposal could be a "good idea," the Post reported.

After De Blasio put the brakes on the street change, elected officials who supported the plan released a statement denouncing the "same old strategy of funneling hundreds of thousands of pedestrians into tight spaces." The statement was issued jointly by City Councilmember Keith Powers, whose district includes the Rockefeller Center area, and Borough President Gale Brewer. Both politicians called for completely pedestrianizing the parts of the Rockefeller Center area such as West 49th and 50th streets between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

"Yesterday we were encouraged to hear that the city was moving forward with a proposal to enlarge pedestrian space along Fifth Avenue to address this congestion during the holiday season. While this is not a long-term solution, it is a good first step," the joint statement reads.

Powers and Brewer urged de Blasio to move forward with the DOT's plan in their statement. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also took to social media in support of a plan to pedestrianize Rockefeller Center, saying: "It will be immensely popular like the other expansions of public space across the city have been and it’s the right thing to do from a safety perspective."

Read the full New York Post article here.