Realty Check

I think it's fantastic when people slow down and take the time to enjoy their neighbors. So often these days, live surrounds carpooling to work and soccer games, quick drives to the store and to visit friends/relatives. People no longer know who lives in the house next door, across the street, around the corner. And, the art of communication is practically dead due to cell phones, text messages, video games and television!!! Grab a bright red, rubber ball and let's have an old fashion game of kickball... right smack dab in the middle of Manhattan!

I like the idea of a community outing. It's not only a good way to see what's going on in the neighborhood under very positive conditions but it's also a good chance to say hello to the folks who might otherwise always be the strangers next door. New York is an execellent place to begin a national trend...as always.

Ray

I live in Houston and love it. Yet, New York is a city that never ceases to amaze me. Every spring, the city shuts down 50+ miles of streets for Bike New York (the rolling version of Ms. Mabrey's "daylight passaggiata") and now Park Avenue. As Ms. Mabrey reminds us it is these excursions to a slower version of life that reminds us of a city's physical and human character. Contrary to Ms. Mabrey's opinion, I think it just might be worth arranging an upstate trip and coming through the city on the front or back end of the trip. I don't usually blog, but Ms. Mabrey captured me on this one. With any luck I'll be there, but I won't be wearing my cowboy boots!

I plan to hit Manhattan on all three dates! Thanks for the heads up

P.S. Keep up the fabulous on air reports!

I think the idea of someone looking into what's going on in the real estate market is a great opportunity for wanabees like me. Are real estate auctions in areas far,far away from your home state a good idea? I mean even if you have never seen the property but it looks good on paper and/or the Net.

As for your current blog, any time you can walk, relax, enjoy your community and just plain people watch, it's a good thing.

Great Story...The gates were great. I took the train all the way from Baltimore to NYC on the last day. I'll probably hop a plane from Florida to NYC for this also.

Vicki we should do lunch sometime! :-D

What makes a block or community livable?
Well, the most important factor is safety. I repeat ..... HOW SAFE IS MY NEIGHBORHOOD??? Are crackheads, thugs, winos, and homeless people constantly around the neighborhood? The street closings for such things as block parties and occassional community events are 'luxury' problems. Another thing that makes neighborhoods livable are access to grocery stores and shopping areas. Friendliness of neighbors is always a plus; but that goes hand in hand with the safety of the neighborhood, which is directly linked to the income of the neighbors. If the only thing that a a neighborhood can complain about is a 'once in a blue moon' street closing, especially if they've received ample notice; their neighborhood must be in pretty good shape.

It is summer time so...
Dancing in the streets of New York seems a fine approach to some fun and a green way to do it makes it a perfect solution to summer in the city. People love to promenade, see and be seen, excercise, walk their animals and meet their neighbors. It is such a European concept, it is what Sundays were intended to be. Days of leisure spent with family, friends and neighbors.
What a wonderful concept. Thanks for sharing it with us.

I love this idea! NYC in the summertime is fabulous anyway, but this even makes it more so. Let's hope it catches on and expands for next year. In fact, I'll be watching from my seat here in the "dirty south"; maybe we can emulate something similar here in Atlanta next year. "Live, Work, Play", that's what makes communities viable.

Great idea. My only query is why stop it at 1pm just when the party is getting started?
I guess it's a New York thing, like opening Central Park to traffic some of the time.

I live in Northern Westchester County , in a town that prides itself on preserving it's rural character (read no business/industrial tax contributions whatsoever). On my street is a town park with soccer and baseball fields, tennis courts and a playground which serves as the gathering point for the two best days of our small town year...July 4 Fireworks (held the Saturday before July 4 to keep prices down) and the Library Fair which offers pie eating contests, "Attic Treasures," and a treasure-trove of books for cheap. Our street is closed to traffic on those days and we truly enjoy hosting parties where we sit with our friends on the front porch and listen to the car-less quiet, take our stroll down to the festivities when we're ready, and just appreciate our good fortune, living just an hour away from Manhattan but a million miles different. We don't even mind our ridiculous property taxes on those two days. You go, Mike! Manhattan deserves the days.

Philadelphia has been closing down West River Drive/Martin Luther King Blvd. for SEVERAL YEARS now. My children and I have rollerbladed and rode bikes in total bliss. It's quiet except for the sounds of nature!! Love it!

Neighbors in the Oakland, CA Dimond/Laurel District have summertime block parties with barbeques and yard sales. It is a culturally mixed population living in 50 to 80 year old bungalows, most of which have been nicely restored and maintained. Since everything grows wonderfully here, gardens are imaginative and bursting with blooms. It is not quite the big city of gleaming sky-rises; it is more like a quaint small country town. It is a nice area to walk, and the diverse mix of people on the street joining in a neighborhood gathering makes all feel welcome.

Sounds like a touch of Rome, Italy where the downtown streets are closed on Friday Nights to all but pedestrain traffic. Sounds like a great idea. Good luck New Yorkers.

I like the idea of closed streets - occasionally, for good reason, and when the inconvenience doesn't get personal. My neighborhood in St. Louis (Soulard), is closed to all parking and driving for the Saturday Mardi Gras celebration.Then a couple of hundred THOUSAND young people proceed to get tipsy - or more. TRASHED is a polite way to describe the neighborhood.
Huge inconvenience to residents, some of whom do mind very much, as they have to park distant and walk to their cars, and won't have a place to park when they return from Saturday grocery shopping.

On the other hand, St. Louis's oldest Historic (Eads) bridge across the Mississippi is closed on a few Saturday nights in the Summer. Tables, chairs, and meals from local restraunts are catered along the length of the bridge in the evening, with live music, a wonderful view of the Arch & City skyline, replica riverboat and horse-drawn carriage tours, the Illinois riverfront, and of course, Ol' Man River up close & personal.
No inconvenience, because the 3 interstates are already on the next bridge downstream.

New Yorker's should enjoy it! Philadelphia closes down its West River Drive/MLK Drive from April to October on weekends all day until 5:00 pm. It runs along the Schuylkill River starting at the Art Museum. We get bikers, roller bladers, joggers, dog walkers, families out for a stroll, you name it. Its really awesome. Hopefully the Park Ave experiment this summer will get some traction.