{"id":531016,"date":"2022-12-24T18:11:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T15:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/holiday-hubbub-is-taking-over-midtown-nyc-and-beyond\/"},"modified":"2022-12-24T18:11:59","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T15:11:59","slug":"holiday-hubbub-is-taking-over-midtown-nyc-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/holiday-hubbub-is-taking-over-midtown-nyc-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"#Holiday hubbub is taking over Midtown NYC and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3584b5527f8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3584b5527f8\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/holiday-hubbub-is-taking-over-midtown-nyc-and-beyond\/#%E2%80%9CHoliday_hubbub_is_taking_over_Midtown_NYC_and_beyond%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Holiday hubbub is taking over Midtown NYC and beyond&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHoliday_hubbub_is_taking_over_Midtown_NYC_and_beyond%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Holiday hubbub is taking over Midtown NYC and beyond&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/steve-cuozzo.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Steve Cuozzo\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/steve-cuozzo.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/steve-cuozzo.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Bah, humbug! My less than jolly mood the past few weeks had nothing to do with the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>ledemic,\u201d subway bums or \u201cJingle Bell Rock\u201d in my ears 24\/7.<\/p>\n<p>All it took was a stroll in Midtown to turn me frosty. <\/p>\n<p>The tourist hordes are back with a nerves-rattling elbows-in-your-face force \u2014 and they\u2019re spreading faster than a virus, well beyond Gotham\u2019s traditional holiday\u00a0zones.<\/p>\n<p>To\u00a0brave anywhere\u00a0within a six-block radius of the Rockefeller Center tree\u00a0right now is to invite trampling by yokels fresh off the farm, fake \u201cBuddhist\u201d monks hustling change and dope-peddling pre-teens.<\/p>\n<p>Instagrammers thrust their phones in strangers\u2019 faces. Gobsmacked gawkers stand immobile. Daddies with tots on their shoulders stiff-arm their way through the throng like Rob Gronkowski in his prime.<\/p>\n<p>Does all of this sound like the Times Square plazas that you know to avoid?\u00a0A few blocks east the Elmos are missing, replaced by suspect Santas on the make.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, there are plenty of reasons to be joyous especially after the 2020 lockdown and the 2021 Omicron surge that nipped holiday celebrations in the bud \u2014 Radio City Music Hall even cancelled its Christmas show when cast members got sick. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the first true, post-pandemic Christmas, and New York feels like New York again. The Rockefeller Center tree has never shone so brightly.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s comic relief from yokels who look for the Rock Center ice rink in sunken office plazas on Sixth Avenue.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-05.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Cyclist rides past Bergdorf Goodman in NYC\" class=\"wp-image-25126856\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-05.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>To\u00a0brave anywhere\u00a0within a six-block radius of the Rockefeller Center tree\u00a0right now is to invite trampling by yokels fresh off the farm, fake \u201cBuddhist\u201d monks hustling change and dope-peddling pre-teens.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\"> Spencer Platt\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"657\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-04.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Christmas revelers in Midtown NYC\" class=\"wp-image-25126863\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-04.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Does all of this sound like the Times Square plazas that you know to avoid?\u00a0A few blocks east the Elmos are missing, replaced by suspect Santas on the make.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ZUMAPRESS.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-11.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Tourists in Rockefeller Center\" class=\"wp-image-25126876\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-11.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-11.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-11.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The tourist hordes are back with a nerves-rattling elbows-in-your-face force \u2014 and they\u2019re spreading faster than a virus, well beyond Gotham\u2019s traditional holiday\u00a0zones.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Mary Altaffer<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But there\u2019s darkness behind the twinkling lights.<\/p>\n<p>Closing West 49th and 50th streets around the tree to vehicular traffic, as the city has done the past few years, makes sense between Thanksgiving and New Year\u2019s. <br \/>But now, City Hall seems intent on making ALL streets a party scene 365 days a year, regardless of damage to neighborhoods and to office towers struggling to be full again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The mayor\u2019s plan to \u201cpedestrianize\u201d Fifth Avenue with wider sidewalks and only a single car lane is among many such brainstorms that the Department of Transportation has on its <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nyc.gov\/html\/dot\/html\/pedestrians\/nyc-plaza-program.shtml\">wish list<\/a><br \/>I love crowds. They\u2019re indispensable to the city\u2019s DNA. But we don\u2019t need a return of \u00a0pre-pandemic anarchy.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"704\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-03.jpg?w=704\" alt=\"Radio City Music Hall\" class=\"wp-image-25126886\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1408 1408w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1056 1056w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=704 704w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=352 352w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-03.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px\"\/><figcaption>To be sure, there are plenty of reasons to be joyous especially after the 2020 lockdown and the 2021 Omicron surge that nipped holiday celebrations in the bud \u2014 Radio City Music Hall even cancelled its Christmas show when cast members got sick. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">ZUMAPRESS.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-02.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Police car in front of tourists in Midtown\" class=\"wp-image-25126888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-02.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>The mayor\u2019s plan to \u201cpedestrianize\u201d Fifth Avenue with wider sidewalks and only a single car lane is among many such brainstorms that the Department of Transportation has on its wish list.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\"> Niyi Fote\/The<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NEWS<\/a>2 via ZUMA Press Wire<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The renewal of street life and the dough the tree-oglers plunk into the city\u2019s depleted piggy bank are welcome, but they recall how overrun the pre-2020 city was.<br \/>Thanks to a strong economy, low crime and a wealth of new attractions,\u00a0Manhattan became too popular for its own good. The stampede overwhelmed museums, the theater district, parks. Octogenarians out for a quiet dinner got crushed like club kids in restaurant coat-check lines.<\/p>\n<p>Back in August 2020, when Times Square was a \u201cghost town,\u201d I wrote that the city might become a \u201ch<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ier place than the overheated mosh pit it had become\u201d once the pandemic ended.<\/p>\n<p>My dream of a \u201cgentler, more humane future\u201d was driven by exhaustion with public spaces \u201cdense to the breaking point\u201d thanks to the imposition of plazas, street fairs and all kinds of outdoor \u201cfestivals.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"724\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-08.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Steve Cuozzo\" class=\"wp-image-25126890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-08.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-08.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-08.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>I love crowds. They\u2019re indispensable to the city\u2019s DNA. But we don\u2019t need a return of pre-pandemic anarchy.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Helayne Seidman<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, City Hall wants to inflict on us even more plazas and \u201copen streets.\u201d Learning nothing from the past,\u00a0its Fifth Avenue scheme will only make sidewalks <strong>\u00a0<\/strong>hospitable to people who loiter and eat junk food, but don\u2019t actually buy anything.<\/p>\n<p>One Times Square is enough, Mr. Mayor.<\/p>\n<p>For sure, Yuletide pandemonium has its heart-lifting moments. A family from west of the Hudson, waiting on the Brooklyn-bound R platform at West 49th Street, asked me if the train would take them to Central Park.<\/p>\n<p>I said that they needed to be on the uptown side and suggested they explain their mistake to the MTA clerk in the booth.<\/p>\n<p>A few minutes later I saw them breeze through the north-bound gate. They waved across the tracks and smiled.<\/p>\n<p>More joy to them \u2014 and to our world that needs all the joy it can get. Just give us space to walk and breathe.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/12\/24\/holiday-hubbub-is-taking-over-midtown-nyc-and-beyond\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Holiday hubbub is taking over Midtown NYC and beyond&#8221; Bah, humbug! My less than jolly mood the past few weeks had nothing to do with the \u201ctripledemic,\u201d subway bums or \u201cJingle Bell Rock\u201d in my ears 24\/7. All it took was a stroll in Midtown to turn me frosty. The tourist hordes are back with&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":531017,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/holiday-crowds-cuozzo-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[137673,66,4953,81023,72675],"class_list":["post-531016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-12-24-22","tag-christmas","tag-new-york-city","tag-rockefeller-center","tag-tourists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}