Mayor ends closures of city streets

Mayor de Blasio on Monday axed a pilot program that banned cars from four streets across New York City, an effort intended to give pedestrians and cyclists more space to maintain social distance during the coronavirus pandemic.

The program, developed following Gov. Cuomo’s claim last month that he witnessed overcrowding in city parks, required 80 cops to enforce the traffic changes. De Blasio spokeswoman Jane Meyer said that’s too many to make the pedestrian-friendly spaces worthwhile.

“The brave men and women of the NYPD never back away from a challenge when the safety of New Yorkers is at stake,” said Meyer. “We are suspending this pilot because we must protect them like they are protecting us, and not enough New Yorkers are utilizing this program to justify its continuation.”

Hizzoner later noted he was concerned the opened streets could become “gathering points” for New Yorkers.

“We do not want to seem to be solving one problem by creating a new one,” he said Monday. “So right now, keeping NYPD and other enforcement entities focused where they are is what we believe is the best strategy.”

The program was launched on March 27 and encompassed just 24 combined blocks across four boroughs. The opened streets were: Manhattan: Park Ave. between E. 28th and E. 34th Sts.

Brooklyn: Bushwick Ave. from Johnson Ave. to Flushing Ave. in Williamsburg

Queens: 34th Ave. from 73rd St. to 80th St. in Jackson Heights

Bronx: Grand Concourse between E. Burnside and 184th St. in Fordham Heights.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) said the plan was not aggressive enough in the first place.

“I think we can do something a lot bigger than that while not needing as much personnel,” he said.