Chinatown residents want to put the brakes on the return of open street parties to Canal Street this spring, saying the city’s move to close off part of the street turned their peaceful neighborhood into “spring break in Miami” for seven months of the year.
Last year, two blocks of Canal – between Orchard and Essex – were closed off to traffic from 3 to 11pm daily from April to October, allowing bars and restaurants to add hundreds of seats on the street, creating what residents described as a free-for-all.
They said adding 300 diners — with no extra toilets — was “psychotic.”
“The public urination is out of control. I’ve said to people, ‘Hey would you mind not peeing here?’ and they’ve said to me, ‘Why don’t I punch you in your f—ing mouth. It’s awful,” said neighbor Elizabeth Zalman…