New York City, with its concrete skyscrapers, might on first glance seem over populated, over built and over mechanized. In truth, New York City is one of America’s “greenest” cities in the world today. Buildings are green, New Yorkers tend to walk to work and the grocery store or take mass transit, and New Yorkers are great recyclers. The average New Yorker produces the equivalent of 7.5 tons of carbon emissions to the 25.5 produced by other Americans, byt crimmany, 7.5 tons of anything still seems appallingly high, I don’t even have a driver’s license or smoke.
In a novel experiment, Broadway/Times Square, one of the densest populated portions of the city (which is visited by more than 350,000 people who throng the area daily to gawk at the LED billboards, pick up discount tickets for Broadway and shop at Toys 'R Us, the M&M Candy Store, and Planet Hollywood), is being given a reprieve, there’s no more traffic. It’s gone! Mayor Bloomberg has closed off the street to all traffic, as in not a cab in sight. Automobiles are “compass non-gratis," strictly not welcome. The traffic has all been diverted to other avenues and streets. The sidewalks, which are usually crammed with humanity, as cabs, cars, buses and trucks clamored for space on the most famous thoroughfare in the world, are now so wide open you could do a waltz, and not bump into a pick-pocket. You can stroll on the street and not even have to look both ways before crossing.
Exhausted tourists and natives in need of a place to unwind can linger and contemplate the barrage of billboards, advertising Good Morning America and Mamma Mia. A boon to street performers, you might even be serenaded by the infamous Naked Cowboy, (he’s not really naked, he wears a thong and cowboy boots). Office workers can brown bag it at lunchtime and catch some rays. Replacing all the gridlock are outdoor lawn chairs, creating a vacuous backyard...America’s backyard? Well the closest thing to a backyard we get here in New York City, next to Central Park.
Granted, there are no fountains, no sculpture, no planters, just asphalt and lawn chairs. It’s sort of like relaxing in a “huge” (Paris Hilton’s new favorite word) parking lot. Presumably, if this urban Valhalla experiment works, those things will come. In the interim, it is a lawn chair only policy. Actually, these particular chairs are temporary and were purchased for $10.74 each, at a local hardware store (stock up!). Many of the original 350 are already starting to sag and show signs of overuse. In a strange, unexplained twist of urban planning, people all seem to sit in the same direction, looking uptown, like they're waiting for a movie to begin--or the mothership to land. It’s a little freaky.
This green experiment is meeting mixed reviews, but I’m all for anything that promotes eco-consciousness. I look forward to the day when traffic is completely passé, and the streets become one great park, marrying retail and business to the outdoors. Trees and flowers are always prettier than a Buick or diesel truck.
Courtesy of www.retaildesigndiva.com where it appeared on June 23, 2009
