As for family values, Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco has a painted area for buskers, first come first served. New York might cordon off the desnudas. Authorities failed to prosecute a Cookie Monster who was accused of molesting a 16-year-old girl this spring because the police couldn’t prove his identity. Officials ought to consider a no-fee volunteer registration for costumed characters — and those who don’t register could expect the police to be on their tails. One more thought: The plazas are still registered as streets, which limits rules governing them. They could get special district zoning designations that would allow new regulations.

Surveys show that visitors and New Yorkers aren’t looking for Disneyland when they go to Times Square, which they want to remain spontaneous and a little crazy. They do want to feel safe, but that doesn’t mean that they care what anybody is wearing, or not wearing. It means that they want some sense of control over their surroundings, a bottom line in public space.

Time and again, Mr. de Blasio leaves an impression that he understands very little about the dynamics of urbanism and the physical fabric of the city — its parks and plazas, its open spaces, libraries, transit network and streetscape, which all contribute to issues he cares most about, like equity and social mobility. Entertaining the demolition of the plazas, the mayor sends a message that New York can’t support the sort of great pedestrian hubs that thrive in competing cities around the globe.

The conversion of traffic-addled Times Square, one of the democratic crossroads of the world, contributed to making New York the most progressive city in the country, transportation-wise. Mr. Bloomberg and Ms. Sadik-Khan created pedestrian plazas in underserved neighborhoods, too, which were starved for public space. Many of those places are now havens and boons for jobs and local businesses.