Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Car-Free Summer Streets Return For Two Weekends In August
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 2, 2021
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 .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 2, 2021
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
Summer Streets, the Department of Transportation's wildly popular annual car-free pop-up events, were sadly cancelled last summer because of the pandemic (though at least we got the advent of Open Streets in lieu of them). But the DOT announced on Friday that Summer Streets will return for its thirteenth iteration for two glorious weekends in August.
This year's edition will take place on Saturdays, August 7th and 14th, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., along Park Avenue, Lafayette, and Centre Streets, for a total of seven miles of car-free streets. DOT adds that they will "once again curate a great roster of fun and free activities along this car-free route."
In 2019, nearly 300,000 people—cyclists, runners, skaters, strollers, little kids, scooters, dogs, and people who don't have fun identifying descriptors—enjoyed the open streets. There was a 165-foot long, 30-foot high zip line at Foley Square, group yoga, musical performances, corporate-sponsored giveaways, free bike helmets, and Vision Zero safety information.
In the early months of the pandemic, the Open Streets program was started to give cooped up New Yorkers extra space outdoors while remaining socially distanced. As the summer went on, the program flourished and nearly 70 miles of streets were opened up (though it was not uniformly perfect, with drivers removing barriers in some locations). Then this spring, the city passed legislation to allow the existing 235 Open Streets locations to use curbside parking spots for programming, and give them the option to keep the streets closed to through traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Additionally, the DOT will be responsible for adding and maintaining 20 Open Streets locations in areas “underserved” by the program.
All the Democratic mayoral candidates told Gothamist they were committed to keeping and expanding the program as well.
Tagged
car-free streets
department of transportation
summer streets
vision zero
no car zone
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Published Oct 15, 2026 at 10:56 a.m. ET
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
Spoiler alert: It's still 26.2 miles.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
Spoiler alert: It's still 26.2 miles.
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
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 .