Talking to some longtime residents of my block, I have confirmed that there has never been an official block party with a street closing on Third Street between 6th and 7th Aenues.

“311 has made things so easy. Now you can find out how to do things we never knew how to do before,” said one Third Street resident of more than twenty years.

I’d always heard that you couldn’t close off a two lane street.

“That’s not true, we were lazy,” she said.

In the past there were mini-block parties, three or four buildings would get together and there would be food, music, musical chairs and a talent show.

“The woman who organized this, she did a good job,” another neighbor said.