Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Tonight: Hearing on Anchorage Place Pedestrian Mall in DUMBO


The DUMBO Improvement District is proposing to close Anchorage Place (the road with black cars, above) to traffic and turn it into a pedestrian plaza.

A hearing on the plan will be held tonight (Wednesday) from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the DUMBO Loft, 155 Water St.

At least eight local businesses back the proposal, citing pedestrian safety and more room for seating next to the Pearl Street Triangle (colorfully painted, above) during events. But Doreen Gallo, Executive Director of the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, said that closing the street would take away from the grandeur of the neighborhood.

“People can't imagine this space and how this should be the Grand North Entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday.

There are better ways to make Anchorage Place safer for pedestrians, she told the Eagle. “If the sidewalks were walkable on both sides of the street and were not misused by DOT on one side and the BID board member/ owner of 155 Water-140 Plymouth Street [on the other], Anchorage Place wouldn’t have to be shut to traffic.”

This discussion will probably be continued at tonight's hearing.

(We also learned from the Eagle story that DUMBO is a great place to find work as a dog walker.)

Photo by MK Metz

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who is Doreen Gallo anyway? How many people does she represent?

bj said...

For years she led the fight to landmark DUMBO and she was successful.