Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Summer Streets Returns This Weekend In All Its Watersliding Glory
By
Scott Heins
Published Aug 2, 2016
Modified Aug 2, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
photo via DoT
By
Scott Heins
Published Aug 2, 2016
Modified Aug 2, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Nearly seven miles of Manhattan streets will be reclaimed from the automobile autocracy this weekend as Summer Streets returns for its ninth straight year. Portions of Broadway and Lafayette Street will be closed to motor vehicle traffic from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to Central Park on Saturday, August 6th, from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.
For those six blissful hours, pedestrians and cyclists will have have free reign up and down the thoroughfares and access to five different "Rest Stop" activity zones that feature zip lines, free fitness classes, a dog run, and of course that giant water slide. The 300 foot, three story Vita Coco™ Beachside Slide will take up much of Foley Square this Saturday as New Yorkers without Hamptons connections ride inner tubes down its rubberized lanes. Beside the slide will be hammocks, a bar (coconut water only), lawn games, and a DJ playing summery jams. Be aware, the line for the waterslide will be colossal, and the city demands that you pre-register online if you want to ride.
Farther north, fitness instructors will lead classes at the SoHo Rest Stop, and a temporary dog park, along with an art installation comprised of spinning top-style chairs, will be open at Astor Place.
"New Yorkers lucky enough to be in town have a lot to look forward to," Department of Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said Monday. Last year over 300,000 people attended Summer Streets events.
Free eats will be served at the Midtown "Taste of Summer Sampling Zone," and the ever-popular 165-foot-long, 30-foot-high zip line will be waiting at the east side of 53rd Street and Park Avenue near the route's finishing point.
via DoT
If you've got plans for this Saturday, don't worry! The very same Summer Streets route and rest stops will be open the next two weekends on August 13th and 20th. With ample open space and temporarily-relaxed laws that allow restaurants to serve additional customers outdoors, this is definitely one of the best ways to experience Manhattan and dream for just a moment of what a post-car future might hold.
Tagged
summer
summer streets
Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Yes, Stevie Wonder is playing MSG. No, you can't afford tickets. See these shows instead.
LCD Soundsystem also uses synthesizers. Ok, maybe not the same thing. But it's still a great month for music in NYC.
By
Hank Shteamer
Published Nov 3, 2026
'The Muppets Take Manhattan' in Queens and more November films in NYC
'Remember, remember the 5th of November' - and also all those other days - in theaters this month.
By
Emma Stefansky
Arts & Entertainment
'The Muppets Take Manhattan' in Queens and more November films in NYC
'Remember, remember the 5th of November' - and also all those other days - in theaters this month.
By
Emma Stefansky
Why LCD Soundsystem's 'New York, I Love You' is still the city's most honest anthem
By
Sonia Rao
Would you live on a Halloween block? These Hackensackers live for it.
By
James Ramsay
Owl pellets and period equity: What's happening at NYC's public libraries this November
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .