Williamsburg Walks Week 1

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Today was the first installment of Williamsburg Walk, the street closure that is not a street fair. Turnout felt light, and the oppressive heat certainly lent the afternoon a languid tone (except at the hydrants, which were very popular). Whether it was the weather or just the extra space, the afternoon lacked that manic aspect that Bedford often gets on the weekends. (And it certainly helped that the sponsors had people going around emptying garbage cans and generally keeping things in order.) Hopefully, less heat and no Giglio festival three blocks away will mean a greater turnout in the coming weeks.

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As it turns out, the closure does not effect any of the cross streets – cross town traffic continued unabated, it was only Bedford that was closed. The regulatory thicket that had to be negotiated for this was pretty incredible, and included multiple city and state agencies. One result was that restaurants and bars could put out tables, but only on the sidewalks. The street tables were all provided by Williamsburg Walks, and clearly, there needs to be more tables. Even without table service in the street, having more tables there would enliven the street. As it is, there is little to bring people into the street, other than the wide open spaces.

5 responses to “Williamsburg Walks Week 1”

  1. One result was that restaurants and bars could put out tables, but only on the sidewalks
    I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THE GYPSY AT NORTH 7TH AND BERRY WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE A TABLE IN THE STREET – 1) WORTHLESS AND BORDERLINE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIY – FORTUNE TELLING A STRICTLY ILLEGAL ACTIVITY IN NEW YORK AND WHY THE PEOPLE MANNING THE BOOTH FOR INFORMATION ARROGANTLY FELT THAT THEIR ENTITLED OPINION WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN A PROTEST AGAINST ILLEGAL AND UNNECESSARY GYPSY CON ARTISTS – WHEN COMPLAINING THE “STAFF” SAID – “OH, THERE IS NO HARM DONE” WHEN IN IN FACT THERE WAS HARM DONE.
    As it is, there is little to bring people into the street
    WELL SATURDAY WAS OUTRAGEOUSLY HOT –
    IF THERE IS TO BE ANY “TABLES” IN THE STREET IT SHOULD BE CONFINED AND LIMITED TO ONLY THOSE BUSINESSES ON THAT STREET WHO PAY TAXES, EMPLOYE PEOPLE AND SUPPORT THE NEIGHBORHOOD – NOT A BUNCH OF PROFESSIONAL JUNK PEDDLERS WHO EVADE TAXES, DO NOT SUPPORT THE AREA AND ARE BASICALLY OFFENSIVE TO ALL SENSIBILITIES. I STILL THINK IT WAS UNNECESSARY TO ALLOW STREET GROPING GYSPIES ACCESS TO THE COMMUNITY – ENOUGH OF THAT ROMANNY TRASH

  2. @Bill Mack
    How are people at the information booth supposed to have the authority to remove ‘gypsies’ from the street? They’re just local volunteers who have no actual authority. Their lack of power does not make them arrogant. If you really had an issue with them, why not speak to the police parked directly next to the booth?
    I just walked past the ‘fortune teller’ and kept going down Bedford. I thought it was fun.

  3. I thought that the event was a great success- everyone seemed really calmed down by having the open space. It’s going to take a while to work out the best rules for this event- think of it as an evolving experiment that we’ll have to run several times before we get it right.
    -Michael

  4. Gowanus Lounge also pointed out that the Siren Festival was on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the coming weeks.

  5. Thought it was a mighty fine time. One can only imagine if the weather were about 10 degrees cooler how many more people would have been out.
    I thought it was a success for a first week.