Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Expanded car-free 'Summer Streets' program starts this Saturday
By
Scott Lynch
Published Aug 4, 2022
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
Scott Lynch
Published Aug 4, 2022
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
After a COVID-canceled summer in 2020, and a truncated two-day reboot last year, Manhattan's glorious, vehicle-free Summer Streets program is back with a newly expanded route this year, taking over eight miles of Manhattan on August 6th, 13th, and 20th. Here's everything you need to know about the joyous annual event.
Bicycles are among the many recreational and fitness amenities accommodated by the Summer Streets program on Saturday.
The Basics
From 7 a.m. to 1 p.m, on three consecutive Saturdays, no vehicles are allowed on the continuous eight-mile route up and down the East Side of Manhattan. All parked cars are removed as well, giving plenty of space, at least for six hours, for riding bikes, scooting, running, playing, skating, strolling, bumping into neighbors and friends, taking photos and having a blast. Kids love it, of course, and so does everyone else. The Department of Transportation estimates that some 300,000 people take advantage of Summer Streets each year.
NYC Department of Transportation
The route
As always, Summer Streets 2022 begins at Foley Square, running up Lafayette Street through Chinatown, Soho and Noho, hitting Fourth Avenue in the East Village, then up Park Avenue South, and Park Avenue proper, starting at Union Square. But rather than stopping at 72nd Street as in the past, this year Summer Streets has been extended up Park Avenue and into East Harlem, ending at 109th Street.
Of course, Summer Streets flows both ways, north and south — to ease congestion at a perennial bottleneck on Lafayette, there's even a new "SoHo detour" this year, with uptown "traffic" running for one block on Cleveland Place around Petrosino Square — and true heads ride the entire route up and down, or down and up.
The city's bumper crop of skaters took advantage of vehicle-free streets alongside walkers and runners on Saturday.
Rest stops, entertainment, and activities
There are six rest stops along the route, at Foley Square and Astor Place, and in Rose Hill, Midtown, the Upper East Side, and what they're calling Uptown, in East Harlem.
The era of inflatable water slides, giant dishwashers, and zip lines appears to be over for now, but at all Summer Streets rest stops you'll find basic amenities like water stations and port-a-potties, and scattered throughout are free bike rentals and fitness classes, dance parties, art workshops for kids, and rollicking musical performances by the likes of the L Train Brass Band, the samba drumline Fogo Azul and Tilted Axes, which is like a marching band in which everyone plays electric guitars.
This year the DOT has also listed all "open restaurants" on the route, which are defined as places that feature curbside and/or sidewalk seating. And Citi Bike is offering free unlimited-ride day passes on Saturday, August 6th: use the code SUMMER22 in the Citi Bike app to get as many free 30-minute rides as you can take in 24 hours (regular bikes only, no e-bikes).
Tagged
running
summer streets
recreation
bicycling
outdoor
fitness
Scott Lynch
Photojournalist, food writer, preschool receptionist. Love NYC.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism
An excellent and diverse month of concerts are in store for October.
By
Hank Shteamer
Published Oct 2, 2026
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
There is now an (un)official verification process for those who can claim the title of city resident.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.
There is now an (un)official verification process for those who can claim the title of city resident.
By
Hannah Frishberg
In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
October is spooky season at the movies in New York City
By
Emma Stefansky
At the Museum at FIT, an argument for dolls as the ultimate fashion influencers
By
Quinn Moreland
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 .