Less Pedestrian Mall Than State Fair Pavilion

Like a big outdoor state fair pavilion with pitchmen hawking all sorts of great stuff — paint, for example:

. . . [T]he plazas have also found a role that was never publicly trumpeted by the administration: They make money for the city.

All or any of them can be rented by private companies, which pay substantial fees to the city — the highest is $38,500. Commercial requests that have been approved have included a Glidden Paint promotion, as well as promotions for “Top Chef,” the cooking competition on the Bravo network, and “The Great Debate,” a series on VH1. The car-free streets have also been the scene of Hula-Hooping classes and a simulcast of the Tony Awards.

. . .

The fees go to the city’s general fund. Street permits, which are also charged for the use of sidewalks and open streets, bring in “a significant amount” of revenue, said Evelyn Erskine, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg.

City officials would not say whether they considered the plazas’ moneymaking potential while planning the changes to Broadway.

. . .

At 23rd and Broadway last weekend, one public space was focused on paint. Just behind the planters that separate the plaza from traffic stood four large purple cylinders, each stocked with brochures and color swatches from Glidden Paint. Three young men and women in bright T-shirts stopped passers-by to hand out paint chips and chat about colors.

“Paint usually gets a good response,” said Kristina Hurlburt, a Glidden representative who said she had sold all types of products. About one in every 15 pedestrians stopped to talk or glance through brochures filled with steel blue and deepest aqua.

The company paid about $2,600 per day for the right to erect its barrel-shaped displays.