While most of the city has bounced back after the 9/11 attack, a four-block strip in Chinatown by One Police Plaza remains barricaded; visitors and residents passing through are required to show ID. Lawmakers, who have repeatedly asked the mayor to reopen the area to traffic, are taking up the issue again.
WNYC reports that New York City Councilwoman Margaret Chin is leading the push, saying, “There’s no strong reason why it should be kept closed.”
Security around the area was tightened following the 2001 attacks to protect the NYPD headquarters. But it has constricted the local economy, community leaders say, noting that tourism in the area has suffered and several small business have shuttered as a result.
With an upcoming construction project on Worth Street, lawmakers fear that the area will become even less accessible to residents and tourists. “We urge you to reopen Park Row to residents and through traffic before the Worth Street reconstruction project begins,” reads a letter signed by Chin, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez, among others. “We believe there is a way to safely and responsibly address this issue without compromising security concerns.”
Park Row Letter to Mayor de Blasio
(Screengrab: Google Maps)
