Mayor de Blasio Raises Prospect of Removing Times Square Pedestrian Plazas

When New York City installed pedestrian plazas in Times Square six years ago, replacing traffic-choked streets with beach chairs and picnic tables, the move prompted civic controversy, late-night monologue jokes and, eventually, widespread praise as an influential innovation in urban design.

But as the city grapples with an influx of topless tip-seekers, the de Blasio administration has suggested an unexpected remedy: Remove the islands altogether.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday that he would consider removing the plazas from the area in a bid to restore order to the crowded streets of the renowned Manhattan crossroads.

The move, described as one of several options to be evaluated by a task force of city officials, would undo a signature accomplishment of Mr. de Blasio’s predecessor, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. And it could restore vehicular traffic to portions of Broadway and Seventh Avenue that are now frequently filled with tourists, theatergoers and Midtown office workers.

Read the rest at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/nyregion/mayor-de-blasio-raises-prospect-of-removing-times-square-pedestrian-plazas.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=3