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Metro

Corey Johnson says city council ‘taking action’ to close streets for social distancing

By
Julia Marsh,
Rich Calder and
David Meyer
Published April 17, 2020
Updated April 17, 2020, 4:21 p.m. ET
1 of 3
Corey Johnson
Corey JohnsonBrigitte Stelzer
Corey Johnson
Taidgh Barron/NY Post
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There is “widespread support” among city council members to force Mayor Bill de Blasio to create space for socially distant walking and biking, Council Speaker Corey Johnson said Friday — outraging some council members.

Johnson and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera plan to introduce legislation next week requiring the city “limit or completely eliminate traffic” on 75 miles of city streets.

“New Yorkers don’t have the street space they need to maintain proper social distancing, which we know is essential in this public health crisis,” Johnson said in a statement.

“While we want to work collaboratively with the administration to open streets, this issue is so important and so urgent that we are taking legislative action to make it happen ourselves.”

The proposal would put New York City on par with Oakland, California, population 430,000, which is in the process of limiting access to 74 miles of streets to pedestrians and cyclists.

Some council members said the speaker was over-stating support for the program.

“Any member of the council who thinks this ought to be the city’s priority, ought to be ashamed of themselves. There are good people on the council who don’t support this and I am hopeful they have the guts to stand up and object,” Councilman Kalman Yeger (D-Brooklyn) said.

“It’s not a priority and I’ve spoken to other council members who are quite upset this is a priority,” said Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens). “To me, there’s a lot more important things.”

Johnson’s office said the bill has the support of “at least 12” members on the 51-person council.

The legislative push comes a week after de Blasio nixed the city’s comparatively small pilot program, which closed down eight blocks total across four boroughs.

Speaking to reporters Friday morning, the mayor continued to express skepticism about the concept. He reiterated his belief that open streets require cops to patrol social distancing.

“I want to make sure anything we do with our streets keeps in mind the following: that we do not put any New Yorkers in danger,” de Blasio said, citing the need to ensure passage for emergency vehicles and deliveries.

“We talked about Oakland the other day — very very different realities,” he added.