Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Open Streets program and plaza conversions
1:47:04
·
147 sec
Council Member De La Rosa inquires about the conversion of Open Streets to plazas and the funding available for their maintenance. Commissioner Rodriguez discusses the funding and management of these spaces.
- DOT to provide the number of Open Streets converted to plazas
- Horticultural Society awarded $27 million for maintenance and beautification of plazas
- Funding and maintenance challenges vary between high-revenue areas like Times Square and underserved communities
- Some Open Streets, including Kiskellah Plaza, have received funding to become permanent plazas
Carmen N. De La Rosa
1:47:04
Thank you.
1:47:05
Chair, if I may just I have one more question.
1:47:08
In terms of open streets, so in my district a number of open streets have become plazas and there's always drama around the plazas.
1:47:17
We've requested a meeting to talk about this further offline, I'm happy to take that conversation there, but I wanted to ask you of the two thirty seven open streets how many across the city have become plazas And then the question that we often get is what is the funding levels available to operators of plazas to make sure that once it becomes a plaza, there isn't there's maintenance and upkeep.
1:49:19
Okay.
1:49:19
I look forward to talking offline.
1:49:21
I know we sent the meeting request.
1:49:23
I would appreciate it because there are some challenges.
1:49:25
And then also an update on the 190 First Street tunnel capital project, but we can do that offline.
Ydanis Rodriguez
1:47:44
Yeah.
1:47:44
We we we can get back to you with with with that number.
1:47:48
As I say, the whole culture society is an institution that first of they want request for proposal like two years ago.
1:47:59
And in that proposal, they were awarded $27,000,000 on the maintenance and the beautification.
1:48:06
We saw the plaza.
1:48:08
We both are close to the Kiskellah Plaza.
1:48:10
And we have seen all those plants.
1:48:12
So those plants being brought in maintenance by the whole cultural society.
1:48:16
The 166 new open suite.
1:48:19
Also, they are the one who are bringing the planting and helping plaza team, Kyle and Emily and Cindy and other on the activation.
1:48:28
So that's when it comes to, you know, the starting with the open street.
1:48:32
The ideal thing is that plaza is solve and maintain.
1:48:36
The idea is that the plaza, it have a partnership with a non for profit that is able to raise revenue and be able to take care.
1:48:44
But however, Times Square Plaza is not the same as a plaza in The Bronx or some places in Harlem in all the underserved community that there's not the same revenue generated.
1:48:57
So I think that, you know, we work hard.
1:48:59
But ideally, on this administration, again, I don't I I can get back to you with the number but I know that Kiskellah Plaza and there was I believe two other plaza, OpenStreet, that already received the money from Mayor Zare in order for all to start turning those Open Street as a permanent plaza with capital dollars being assigned.