by Amanda Becker
On a typical Saturday afternoon, Bedford Avenue is teeming with activity. Joggers breeze by on afternoon jaunts, teenagers peruse stores, couples read posted restaurant menus, mothers run hurried errands and children grin with ice-cream stained smiles on their way to the park. That’s only the pedestrian activity. There are also the delivery trucks dropping of perishable goods to restaurants and markets, residents jockeying for parking spots and motorists cruising up and down the main drag on their way out of North Brooklyn. Emil Kozerawski would like to change all that.
Car Free Bedford, an organization Kozerawski created to campaign for the elimination of motorist traffic on Williamsburg’s main drag, Bedford Avenue between North 5th and 9th Streets. He envisions a pedestrian esplanade, like the ones he experienced while traveling in Europe, with sidewalk cafes and outdoor seating - a sort of permanent street fair.
In April, Kozerawski teamed up with a group called Transportation Alternatives, an organization founded in 1973 to promote biking, walking and public transportation in New York City instead of automobile use. Transportation Alternatives campaigns for additional bike racks, car-free hours and other improvements that make walking and biking easier throughout the five boroughs. Their past victories include increased weekday car-free hours in Central Park, 10 miles of bike path on the Hudson River Greenway and increasing car-free hours in Prospect Park.
But plans to eliminate cars on Bedford Avenue aren’t without dissent. Businesses fear deliveries will be difficult and residents are concerned banning vehicles from Bedford will only increase traffic on residential side streets. In the feedback forum of carfreebedford.com Brooklyn residents engage in heated discourse about the proposed plan. Spirited posts are critical of Kozerawski’s mission, but he remains optimistic.
“People regard it as a pipe dream because they aren’t familiar with the idea,” says Tresa Horney from Transportation Alternatives. In reality, the re-zoning of North Brooklyn and the increase in residential areas makes pedestrian friendly streets a priority.
Community Board 1 has been open to Kozerawski’s ideas, even if not willing to commit to closing Bedford Avenue to vehicular traffic. Teresa Toro, the head of the transportation committee, is on record supporting pedestrian friendly proposals but is realistic about the time and research it would take to close busting Bedford Avenue to cars.
Car Free Bedford isn’t giving up. “A smaller plan is currently in the works for a Bedford Avenue Block Festival in late July,” Kozerawski states. Hundreds of Brooklyn residents and local businesses have signed a petition in support of the temporary street closure. “Businesses understand that increased foot traffic brings additional customers,” he explains.
While you might not be sauntering down Bedford as an esplanade anytime soon, pedestrian friendly changes are an issue that will increase in importance as large residential construction projects sprout up throughout Williamsburg. “I think support for these proposals is more likely as warehouse and industrial areas are rezoned,” says Tresa Horney. More apartments translates into more walkers and families that would like safe areas for recreation. In the meantime, for a taste of what Bedford’s future could be, stop by the street fair in July.
For more information:
Car Free Bedford
Visit their site at carfreebedford.com to learn more about Kozerawski’s mission and chart its progress.
Transportation Alternatives
To learn about widespread efforts in New York to promote safety of pedestrians and cyclists, visit transportationalternatives.org.
