New York’s LGBTQ community may be honored with rainbow crosswalks

While NYC has seen temporary rainbow crosswalks in the past, this group wants to make them permanent

A new petition on the activist platform, Care2 is calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city to create rainbow crosswalks in recognition of NYC's LGBTQ community, the New York Post first reported.

While the city has created temporary rainbow crosswalks in the past, the petition is calling for the city to make at least some of the crosswalks permanently rainbow colored. Last year, crosswalks at 36th Street and Fifth Avenue, and Christopher Street were painted in rainbow colors in honor of the Pride March—they marked the start and end points of the march.

Representatives for the city told the Post that they definitely plan to have the temporary rainbow sidewalks again this year for Pride, and are considering making some sidewalks permanent.

The petition points to Washington, D.C. and Atlanta as cities that have already introduced permanent rainbow crosswalks, and they're hoping NYC will quickly join that list as well.

Just some of the messages left on the petition include:

"This is important to me because this is the time for change. Something like this will be a small reminder to the LGBTQ community that there is still hope and that we are strong and are together."

"Many cities around the world show their support for the LGBTQI+ community with the sinple gesture of rainbow cross walks. NYC is considered by many to be the birthplace of the modern LGBT movement, the lack of visble acknowledgment of this fact betrays the City's overtones of being a safe, welcoming and supportive place for LGBTQI+ people."

Already the petition has surpassed its original goal of 16,000 signatures and has now upped its goal to 17,000.

• LGBT group wants to paint city crosswalks in rainbow colors [NYP]