NYC Open Streets Organizers Call for City Support

New York City’s open streets, like its outdoor dining patios, continue to wane with little support from city officials. “The downward trends of the open streets over four years confirm Streetsblog's extensive reporting on the steady rollback of operating days and hours across the city,” writes Kevin Duggan in Streetsblog NYC.

According to city Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander, “Volunteer groups cannot sustain the work to successfully operate open streets without more resources, support, and clear guidelines from the city.” Lander called on the city to expand and support the program.

The average number of open streets in the city dropped from 326 in 2021 to 232 in 2024. This year, the program is expected to roll out in 127 locations. “The average length of city open streets dropped by nearly a third (32 percent) between its peak in 2020 and 2024, and operating hours per week fell by 40 percent, according to the comptroller's analysis.” The projects that remain are concentrated in Manhattan, which consistently has the highest number of open streets compared to the other boroughs.

Lander’s report recommends bringing the program to all neighborhoods and creating a “baseline reliable public funding” source to support neighborhood volunteer groups with setup and equipment costs. Recently, a group of Open Streets organizers requested $48 million from the city over the next three years. According to Lander, “If you provide resources to enable open streets to happen, not only will you have a beautiful open street, but you’ll be supporting the growth of a neighborhood safety institution, [New Yorkers] would think that $48 million was a bargain.”