PEEKSKILL — A group is proposing that a short downtown street be closed to vehicular traffic and become a park space that in the near term could provide social distancing and allow restaurants more room for outdoor seating.
The concept is that Esther Street, a short alley that runs from Division to Brown streets and is home to businesses such as the Beanrunner Café, be closed to vehicles, perhaps in the summer and fall.
"Long term, it could become this sort of little center for arts and music and food and all that great stuff, but also short term it makes a lot of sense,” said Conor Greene, a co-founder of Peekskill Walks, the volunteer group putting forth the proposal.
Greene said Peekskill Walks has been in discussion about the concept with the city manager and would like to bring a formal proposal to the city's Common Council in coming weeks.
Greene said Esther Street is underused, not vital to traffic flow and he believes it’s the city’s shortest road.
Closing the street to vehicles would require a Common Council vote.
City Manager Andy Stewart said that Peekskill Walks and businesses on Esther Street are working together on a proposal.
Stewart said that from a traffic perspective, Esther Street is a reasonable one to look at because it's a short road and most of the traffic is on other streets.
“There are cities and villages all across the United States right now who are looking to use their sidewalks and streets in new ways,” Stewart said.
It's part of a downtown that has become popular in recent years for its restaurant scene and includes the nearby Paramount Hudson Valley Theatre.
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Eateries along Esther could have more space for takeout windows or to create socially-distanced outdoor seating as they gradually reopen from the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Greene said the city could see how the idea works in practice this summer and fall, if approved. He said no money is being requested from the city budget. The idea would be to eventually do more with the space. "We’ll turn to fundraising and other grants” and donations “to sort of figure out how we can build out the public space. That process, that will take some time for sure," he said.
Esther Park would be a space to relax, gather with friends and visit businesses in an area of historic buildings, according to documents about the proposal. It's envisioned as eventually hosting such things as yoga, music, movies, food festivals, pop-up art galleries, and rotating exhibits.
Peekskill Walks formed over the past year or so following forums that were held by the Peekskill Community Congress, where residents pitched ideas for city priorities.
According to documents as part of the park concept, Peekskill Walks seeks more broadly "a better balance of how we allocate our open space. This is even more important than ever as we reopen our society and confront the new realities during and post-corona pandemic.”
During the Peekskill Community Congress forums, “a few of my neighbors got up and said, basically, Peekskill is walkable by default, but it’s not pedestrian friendly,” Greene said, with needs such as better sidewalks and crosswalks.
He added that “we’re advocating for basic pedestrian safety and upgrades," and "we’ve also started to look at how we use our public space, how people spend time downtown, how we can improve our neighborhood.”
Michael McKinney covers northern Westchester. Follow him on Twitter @mikemckwrite. Visit offers.lohud.com to sign up for a subscription.
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Proposal says short, downtown Peekskill street should become park space closed to cars - Lohud
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