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Friday Video: A Brief Look At What Austin Street Could Be
['Dave Colon', 'Sophia Lebowitz', 'Ydanis Rodriguez', 'Betsy Plum', 'Ben Furnas', 'Gersh Kuntzman', 'Nolan Hicks']
Streetsblog New York City
Crowds regularly flock to Austin Street, a commercial stretch in Forest Hills, despite the fact that actually walking around the area can feel like such a burden.
With narrow sidewalks and two-way car traffic, pedestrians not only get the squeeze, but they also need to deal with drivers making unsafe moves in an attempt to get around.
For one glorious afternoon — Austin Day on Sunday, Sept. 14 — Austin Street went pedestrian-only, showing the potential of the people-first version of the block that neighborhood activists have pitched for years.
The one-day open street was created by Neighbors For A Safer Austin Street to "show everyone what a safer, better, more vibrant Austin Street could look like," according to founder Pedro Rodriguez.
Mission accomplished, as you can see in today's video:
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