After debuting in May, the car-free areas on Broadway are still in the development stages—lingering traffic cones cordon off some sections, and the lawn chairs in Times Square will soon be replaced with sturdier ones—but the city has already started renting them out for events and promotions. The move is a positive one for New York—the usage brings in an additional revenue stream—as well as for planners and producers, who value the added visibility. And according to The New York Times, 20 events have made use of the spaces since May, including Monday afternoon's public promotion from VH1.
Matthew Glass, C.E.O. of Grand Central Marketing—the production firm that wrangled the permits for VH1—finds that the new areas are easier for consumers to reach, too. "[The VH1 event was] greatly more visible and accessible to pedestrian traffic in these mall areas as they are open and unobstructed. In fact, we benefited not only from foot traffic, but automobile traffic, which had a clear view of our banner and set as it came down Broadway to turn at 35th Street," Glass said.
However, there is no single agency that handles the use of these pedestrian plazas for events and promotions. For the stretch of Broadway between Macy's and Herald Square Park, Glass worked with the 34th Street Partnership, which manages the park and secured the necessary authorization from the Street Activity Permit Office and the New York Police Department.
