SUMMER STREETS 2012

Summer Streets 2012. Image from nyc.gov.

For three consecutive Saturdays mornings, bikers, walkers, runners, roller bladers, and baby strollers took over Park Avenue from 72nd Street all the way down through Lafayette Street by the Brooklyn Bridge entrance.

It's a weird sight when you first notice it - to not see a single cab or any car for such a long stretch. But unlike the eerie scenes shot for I Am Legend, there was a positive and energetic vibe going on at Park Avenue that's not always there. The sense of freedom and space definitely gravitates New Yorkers to Summer Streets. To be able to roam free in previously restrictive environments.

But perhaps there's something deeper here. You feel like a king running down those streets like that. Almost like you're taking over the city. I know my two-year old daughter, for one, felt like that. And maybe she's not alone.