The car-hating NYC pol’s new bill will bring 5 million square feet of new ‘pedestrian space’.
A far-left, car-hating Brooklyn cop is pushing a bill that would create 1 million square feet of new “pedestrian space” in the Big Apple every year for the next five years.
The legislation, introduced Tuesday by Democratic Councilman Lincoln Restler, failed to quantify how many parking spaces and driving lanes would be lost through the plan — and neither did city transportation officials.
However, it will require the city’s Department of Transportation to include Restler’s proposal — which calls for new pedestrian areas, curb extensions and other car-free areas — as the agency’s signature in its next five-year “Streets Master Plan” in December.
It would also require the DOT and Mayor Mamdani to “prioritize” new pedestrian space near bus stops and train stations with “high pedestrian traffic” such as Manhattan’s Herald Square and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
“This will add more open streets, add public plazas, add more ‘daylight’. [banned parking near crosswalks]so we can all have the pedestrian space we need to walk,” Restler told DOT officials March 3 when he presented his plan during a Council transportation committee hearing.
“As a New Yorker, I don’t think there’s anything that frustrates me more than getting stuck behind a slow person, and it tends to happen in these very congested areas because we don’t have enough space for all of us to be able to walk,” growled Restler, who represents Williamsburg, Greenpoint and other bike-friendly communities.
The bill is already drawing a lot of heat from critics.
“This is yet another favor of an anti-car agency that will make life difficult for outlying residents,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens).
“Some of our colleagues are under the illusion that the entire city has public transit in Park Slope, and that everyone can ride a bike everywhere in any weather,” added the councilman, who represents much of The Rockaways, Howard Beach and other “transportation deserts.”
“I wholeheartedly invite them to look beyond their bubbles and come back to reality.”
Sandy Reiburn, a Brooklyn resident and longtime critic of the DOT’s controversial “Open Streets” program, said the law would bring “more gridlock” to New York City.
“Streets are not for decoration—they are arteries of commerce, emergency access, and transportation,” Reiburn said.
“The Restler system treats streets like empty houses, but for seniors, paratransit users and the disabled, curbs aren’t an option — access is. Clearing streets erases the ability to take people where they really need to go.”
The DOT — which oversees 93 public plazas totaling 2 million square feet — has added about 500,000 square feet of pedestrian space annually over the past four years.
The agency’s previous five-year plan failed to meet targets such as building 150 miles of protected bike lanes and 250 miles of protected bus lanes by the end of 2025.
“Walking is the primary way we all get around as New Yorkers,” said Restler, who is famous for fighting to reduce curbside parking and other policies that prioritize pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transit riders over drivers. “And frankly, the city is doing very little to ensure that we have enough space for pedestrians in all of our communities, especially in the most congested areas.”
DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn, Mamdani’s appointee, said the agency has no desire to put the brakes on it.
“As the need for pedestrian space increases, we respond by expanding opportunities that prioritize pedestrians at the block, corridor, or district-wide scale,” he said.
“We are also developing exciting new plans and commitments on this topic that we intend to include in the new Street Plan. “We look forward to continued discussions with the Council to identify plans that meet our common goal of increasing pedestrian space throughout the city.”
