Temporary Space Eyed For Myrtle Avenue
A proposal for a temporary public plaza at Myrtle and 71st avenues in Ridgewood was unveiled and then debated by local leaders and business owners at nearby Joe & John’s Pizzeria last Tuesday, Sept. 4.
According to Theodore Renz, executive director of the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), plans for a plaza at that location originally were drawn up during the 1980s, but were held off because of budget concerns. With the city’s push for public plazas in recent years, the triangle proposal is being revisited.
“The long-range strategy,” said Renz, “is to create a permanent plaza on 71st Avenue.”
Emily Wiedenhof of the city Department Of Transportation (DOT) gave an overview of the proposed plaza, to be bounded by Myrtle Avenue, 71st Avenue and Stephen Street.
She claimed that the area is a good candidate for the plaza due to its proximity to mass transit and the busy Myrtle Avenue retail corridor.
“There are a lot of people out and about shopping, and we really think that there’s a need for people … to have a place to sit,” she said.
The plan would be to close off the northern part of the triangle, at 71st Avenue, and divert southbound traffic to turn left onto Stephen Street to get to Myrtle Avenue, which Wiedenhof claimed would also help eliminate dangerous pedestrian/vehicular conflicts.
The plaza will be designed so that emergency vehicles will still be able to access the area if necessary, and the FDNY “will thoroughly vet and approve any plans,” she added.
In addition, the amount of cars using the street daily is so low that no traffic impact is expected.
While three parking spots along 71st Avenue will be lost, three new ones will be created on the northern and southern edges of the plaza. The DOT is considering several options for the new spaces, including a commercial loading zone or metered parking.
Wiedenhof then told the crowd about the various items in the DOT’s “toolkit” to construct a temporary plaza.
Usually, the DOT fills the street with a sandlike epoxy gravel, then moves in temporary furniture such as tables and seats, benches, granite blocks, planters and umbrella, as well as “flexible delineators” that can go to the ground, allowing emergency access.
The benches are designed with armrests to prevent vagrants from spending the night sleeping in the plazas. There was some confusion at the meeting as to whether the older, “World’s Fair”-style benches will be available for the temporary plaza.
The Myrtle Avenue BID will be responsible for sanitation, snow removal and removable furniture. The plaza will be open at all times, and community groups will be able to use the space for programming such as greenmarkets and book fairs.
After the presentation, the crowd broke up into three groups, and were given large maps of the area and asked to come up with their own plans for the temporary plaza.
One table featured Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association President Paul Kerzner and a group of area business owners, while another table featured Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano and fellow board members Don Passantino, Lydia Martinez and John Maier; the third table featured Renz and Myrtle Avenue BID Chairperson Herman Hochberg, along with Board 5 Chairperson Vincent Arcuri.
Renz’s table pushed for a commercial loading zone at Myrtle and Forest avenues, near the Bank of America branch at that location. The table also suggested programming ideas for the space, such as book readings, poetry readings and outdoor music events.
The table with Board 5 members eyed sanitation issues, as the buildings on 71st Avenue had first-floor commercial venues but apartments on the upper floors. Wiedenhof stated that the DOT will talk to th DSNY on the best way to handle it, and Renz called it “a very solvable problem.”
“We definitely want to emphasize the historic nature of the neighborhood,” Maier added, with the addition of “World’s Fair”-style benches and the possible creation of bike racks with a historic look and feel.
The third table pushed for greenery, including trees, according to Chris Membreno, as well as additional seating to allow local workers to eat lunch outdoors. In addition, LED chain lighting around the perimeter and security cameras for safety were suggested.
Angel Santana, who runs a new sports nutrition store on 71st Avenue, expressed concern about homeless persons at the temporary plaza. Renz responded that the 104th Precinct does monitor the issue at other public plazas throughout the area, including at Venditti Square.
Future
Renz told the Times Newsweekly on Tuesday, Sept. 11 that the plaza should be installed by month’s end, with the process-“a relatively simple, quick process,” he claimed- taking two to three days.
