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Protest crowds concerns public space advocates

Protest crowds concerns public space advocates
Photo by Paul Schindler
By Patrick Donachie

Advocates for better transit and more robust public spaces in New York City are pointing to the massive crowds at the Women’s March held on Saturday as a sign that Mayor Bill de Blasio needs to expand safe areas for demonstrations.

“Every American city bears the responsibility for providing and expanding access to quality public spaces for everyone to exercise their fundamental freedom of expression – a hallmark of our democracy,” Susan Chin, the executive director of the Design Trust for Public Space, said. “The longevity of our civic commons relies on well-considered, sustainable design that engages and elevates communities.”

Chin joined Transportation Alternatives along with 10 other groups calling for improvements to a city stressed by massive protests. The groups lauded the NYPD’s conduct in managing crowds that far surpassed expectations at the Women’s March, but public transit was affected and multiple streets expected to be opened were packed with people. At one point marchers physically moved a guard rail set up by authorities in the center of the street next to the sidewalk to give the crowd enough space to move.

In a letter sent to de Blasio prior to the Women’s March, advocates called for continued funding for more public plazas, designating 14th Street as a “key locus of public expression” and opening Fifth Avenue in Midtown to pedestrians. In the letter, advocates also suggested trying to disperse a large group of protestors to multiple sites throughout the boroughs as opposed to a crush of protestors at one central Manhattan location.

“The need for places to support public expression could not be clearer or more compelling, as demonstrated by the outpouring of people taking to their streets this weekend,” Laura Hansen, the managing director of the Neighborhood Plaza Program at the Horticultural Society of New York, said. “Without safe, accessible streets, plazas, parks and other public spaces, our ability to congregate on behalf of democracy is diminished.”

Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdonachie@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.