Williamsburg Walks '09 (bitchcakesny)

Last year's Williamsburg Walks closed Bedford Avenue to car traffic for six Saturdays in July and August. This year a much-reduced event will happen over only one weekend, on June 26th and 27th. Why? As seen on Gothamist and Free Williamsburg,

Neighbors Allied for Good Growth [who organize Williamsburg Walks] faced resistance last month from Bedford Avenue merchants, who complained that the street festival slowed customer traffic and cut down sales for several Saturday afternoons, typically the busiest retail day for many business owners.

"Thank God they've cut it," said Jill Goldhand, the owner of the N. Sixth Street furniture store A and G Merch, who urged festival organizers to reduce the schedule.

Williamsburg Walks may be shorter, but Neighbors Allied for Good Growth said it will be better. "We are confident that the event will be fantastic and we will establish a sustainable model for the years to come," said event organizer Gregor Nemitz-Ziadie. [Brooklyn Paper]

The event will still coincide with the L Magazine-produced Northside Festival happening June 24-27. A selection of Williamsburg videos are below...

Continue reading "Williamsburg Walks reduced to 1 weekend (which happens to coincide with this year's Northside Festival) "

Williamsburg Walks - Bedford Ave, June 6, 2009 (aloha orangeneko)

"Famed for its concentration of heavily subsidized 20-something residents -- also nicknamed trust-funders or trustafarians -- Williamsburg is showing signs of trouble. Parents whose money helped fuel one of the city's most radical gentrifications in recent years have stopped buying their children new luxury condos, subsidizing rents and providing cash to spend at Bedford Avenue's boutiques and coffee houses." [NY Times] (thx Hiro)

Car Free Times Square (BF 09)

In addition to the car free Times Square, which started Memorial Day weekend and will run at least till the end of the year (see article below), New Yorkers and tourists will get more chances to enjoy pedestrianized city streets.

One of those comes in August...

NYC DOT and our partners are proud to present Summer Streets. We will temporarily close Park Avenue and connecting streets from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park to motor vehicles and open it up to people on three consecutive TBA Saturdays in August.

Check out the Summer Streets route below.

Then in Brooklyn...

The L Magazine and Neighbors Allied for Good Growth (NAG) have partnered this year to organize the 2009 Williamsburg Walks. We invite North Brooklyn residents, visitors and merchants to celebrate the community on a pedestrian Bedford Avenue: Williamsburg's lively main drag will be closed to cars between North 4th and North 9th Streets every Saturday from June 6th to July 11th from noon to sunset.

The second week of Williamsburg Walks on Saturday, June 13th will coincide with the Northside Festival. That afternoon, the shows happening a few blocks away include O'Death at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and, a few doors down at Public Assembly, Aaron Behrens (of Ghostland Observatory), Motel Motel, Henry Wolfe; Back room: Mia Riddle, Geoff Ereth and jacksonknife.

More info on the traffic free areas below...

Continue reading "Bedford will be closed to cars on Saturdays (including during Northside) ++ other NYC pedestrian walkway news"