Under the plan, Newark Avenue between Grove and Barrow streets will be closed to traffic.

Some business owners are against the idea. "I get my deliveries in the front of the store," says Edwin Cruz, of Downtown Hardware. "That would directly affect that situation. My deliveries are 18-wheelers."

But Mayor Steven Fulop says the plan will support new and existing businesses in the long run. "In the very near future, what you're going to end up seeing here is a pedestrian street," he says. "We'll have benches in the middle. We'll have seats extended out for restaurants."

Fulop says the proximity to mass transit makes the location ideal.

The city council will vote on a one-year trial period for the pedestrian mall.