34th Avenue between 73rd and 80th Streets will be car free from Friday, March 27 through Monday, March 30 (Photo: 34th Avenue at 80th, Google Maps)
March 26, 2020 By Allie Griffin
A stretch of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights will be closed to traffic and opened to pedestrians Friday in order to promote social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The DOT announced that 34th Avenue between 73rd and 80th Streets will close to cars and other vehicles from Friday, March 27 through Monday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, as part of a pilot program.
Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx will each have one street opened to pedestrians. Additional streets may be added, the mayor said.
Governor Andrew Cuomo suggested opening up the streets after visiting New York City last weekend, where he saw groups of people congregating in close contact at city parks.
The goal of the pilot program is to increase outdoor space so New Yorkers can get some air while practicing proper social distancing — staying at least six feet from others — in order to slow the spread of the virus.
The plan comes at a time when there is hardly any traffic in New York City and there is a pressing need for space.
“Open the streets. People want to walk–get some air,” Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany yesterday. “You want a less dense area, so pilot closing streets to cars.”
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12 Comments
The stretch on 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens is nice but it’s causing a lot of headache and traffic and vehicles have to park miles away. How long is this going to last? please provide me with an answer
Right now I’m seen more than 100 people not following social distance. Some are people sitting in the middle of the street with children not wearing any masks. This was a horrible idea. I think because of this, we will have more cases of COVID.
I’m a bit underwhelmed by the < 200m stretch that got opened up. The thought is nice, but it really is hardly anything.
Also to all the extremists who say people should not leave the house at all, your short sighted clouded judgment is only slightly better than the deniers who ignore social distancing.
We should be encouraging healthy practices that can facilitate stronger immune systems attenuating the severity of new cases. Besides the inherent effects of exercise and sunlight, it also is an outlet for people to remove stress which has significant benefits as well. Increasing available space will help social distancing. Your ire would be more productive directed at the people who ignore the guidelines and put others at risk.
riding bicycle cure for corona Confucius say….
bad idea… we are just starting the peak of the virus and letting people out like this is probably not a good idea. people will go out when needed and you still need to have people stay at home. The hospital is about 3 blocks away and it has seen the most deaths in Queens and exposing people so close is a bad idea.
it will only cause more traffic, people are still driving.
How will emergency vehicles get by ?
Two words :
Block Party.
More people will be gathering together & I doubt they will be staying 6 feet apart
Good idea
The entrance to the parking garage in my building is on 34th Ave and 76th. Could we get some info on how my fellow residents with cars are to manage this?
@ JM
The restriction is from 10am-7pm for four days, surely you can accomplish your car-based errands or work during the other hours or other days of the week.
Try to have some understanding for what’s happening, it’s terrifying.
I work during the day and ill never get parking if I moved my car. Jackson heights was the worst move i ever made. What was i thinking when i moved here? Overpopulated 3rd world neighborhood
Please do yourself and the community a favor and ungentrify yourself if you don’t appreciate the great diversity this neighborhood has to offer. Otherwise, maybe see the positive side that at this moment your inconvenience is resulting in you contributing less to climate change.