Park Row Reopens to Traffic Temporarily

New York, NY —

New York City will temporarily reopen downtown Park Row from Chatham Square to City Hall Park to pedestrian traffic and city buses on May 15.

Park Row, which links Chinatown to the financial district, was closed after September 11, 2001 because it runs past police headquarters and is considered a sensitive area. For 90 days, the street will be open to 200 buses a day, about a third of pre-September 11 traffic.

After the 90 days, the NYPD will consider allowing more bus traffic through. State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he hoped the reopening would restore Chinatown as a popular lunch spot for Wall Street Employees.

SILVER: I hope this action today will serve as a catalyst for the reopening of Park Row. It is one more important way to show the cowardly terrorists that we cannot be broken.

Local residents and business owners have been pushing for the reopening of Park Row, saying their community had already suffered from the aftermath of September 11th.