Pedestrianize Rockefeller Center Again For Holidays, Pols Say

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Rockefeller Center was uncharacteristically empty during last year's holiday season, but all signs point to it filling up with visitors again this year — and two local officials are pushing the city to open the space up for pedestrians.

In 2019, the city blocked off 49th and 50th streets between Fifth and Sixth avenues starting in late November, closing the thoroughfares to car traffic in an effort to make room for pedestrians. Up to 20,000 pedestrians passed through the area each hour before the pandemic, clogging the street in front of Saks Fifth Avenue and, of course, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

While most holiday festivities went virtual last year due to the pandemic, tourists will likely flock to Midtown again this year, though the city has not yet said which events will be on tap.

Aiming to avoid another season of crammed sidewalks, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Councilmember Keith Powers are now asking the Department of Transportation to reinstate the 2019 plan, which they called "long overdue."

Let’s create a pedestrian ❄️ wonderland all year round at Rockefeller Center ⬇️⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/wK8H9TJCBD
— Gale A. Brewer (@galeabrewer) October 12, 2021

"For years, the area saw a crush of pedestrians during the holiday season," they wrote in a letter to Transportation Commissioner Hank Gutman. "[A]s the city reopens and pedestrian traffic increases again, we need a policy that creates a pedestrian-friendly area around Rockefeller Center, as well as in other areas."

Pedestrianized streets, Brewer and Powers argue, have been shown to boost nearby businesses, a critical objective as the city continues its pandemic recovery. At present, the street space around Rockefeller Center "unnecessarily overprioritizes vehicles," they wrote.

A DOT spokesperson told the New York Post that the agency agreed with the two officials about the need for more pedestrian space, promising that "We will have more to say soon about our plans for this year[.]"

Brewer and Powers, meanwhile, already have their sights set beyond this holiday season.

"It is our expectation that after the expected success of this holiday program that we will meet with the DOT to discuss permanent pedestrianization plans for the area," they wrote.