- Target:
- New York City residents, agencies and elected officials
- Region:
- United States of America
Orchard Street has a charm of international renown. With gems like the Tenement museum that draw happy middle-class Americans from out west to our shops, the thoroughfare is full of new faces.
This street has the potential to be what tourists remember about Manhattan. Let's face it: the Lower East Side is truly akin to the romanticized vision of Richard Price's Lush Life.
An area between Delancey and Rivington, however, has fallen behind the parade. At night, muggers lurk around Gallery Bar and Lucky Jacks (both respectable and innovative establishments, whose music and concept enlighten) to target the community's young, affluent population. The street struggles during daylight hours to display a charm and ease of the other blocks.
A number of shops on this block set up tables with merchandise outdoors throughout the week. On Sundays, the block is cordoned off for foot traffic. Selling merchandise outdoors should be reserved for the weekend. During the week, this type of "outdoor bazaar" atmosphere is incongruous with the more tasteful storefronts on the other blocks North and South.
Don’t let this block tip the balance of a newcomer’s positive memory of Orchard to negative. Revitalize the block in question for a unified experience for consumers and residents.
Because the block of Orchard Street between Delancey St. and Rivington St. displays a growing number of vacant storefronts, we propose the following improvements to be enacted by the New York City Department of City Planning, the Public Design Commission of New York City and the Mayor’s Office:
- Trees, as seen on the Orchard Street blocks North and South;
- New sidewalks;
- A two-way stop at Orchard and Rivington;
- Enforce indoor sales on weekdays.
We, the undersigned, propose that the New York City Department of City Planning, the Public Design Commission of New York City, and the Mayor’s Office make renovations to Orchard Street at Rivington and Delancey.
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The Trees for Orchard Street petition to New York City residents, agencies and elected officials was written by Esteban Chaim Serrano and is in the category Neighborhood Living at GoPetition.