As I sort of anticipated, the responses were almost evenly split, with the tiniest of edges going to the color version. I remained ambivalent as I seesaw between the two, perhaps depending on the time of day. The responses were from seasoned photojournalists as well as from non professionals.
The preference between monochrome and color has largely been a subjective one. although the subject matter, physiognomy, scene and location sometimes do not offer much leeway in the final choice.
As I write this, I must admit that I am inclined towards the monochrome versions...perhaps because New York City street scenes are expected to be gritty? I don't really know....