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The City Opens Six More Streets For Outdoor Dining In Brooklyn, Queens, And Manhattan
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 28, 2020
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 28, 2020
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New York City is making portions of six streets car-free in order to allow more room for more outdoor dining. The locations include Astoria, Harlem, and Boerum Hill, and bring the total number of locations in the city's Open Streets / Open Restaurants initiative to 81.
Those six new locations are:
- Boerum Hill: Hoyt Street, from Pacific Street to State Street
- Garment District: West 36th Street, from 5th Avenue to 6th Avenue
- Flatiron: East 28th Street from Madison Avenue to Park Avenue, and East 29th Street, from Madison Avenue to 5th Avenue
- Harlem: Frederick Douglass Boulevard, from West 112th Street to West 120th Street
- Astoria: Ditmars Boulevard, from 33rd Street to 36th Street
Vehicular traffic on these streets will be restricted from 5 p.m to 11 p.m on Fridays, and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
According to the city, more than 9,900 restaurants are participating in the Open Restaurants program, and while the program is popular, restaurant owners have said it is a thin lifeline, at best, to keep them afloat, and that more drastic measures should be taken by the city and state to repurpose public spaces, eliminate bureaucracy, and provide real rent relief to small business owners and tenants.
During the Brian Lehrer Show's weekly Ask The Mayor segment on Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio was asked why grocery delivery workers were still getting parking tickets while making deliveries in Open Streets zones.
"I'm not at all advocating for getting rid of the restaurants, like not at all. I'm wondering if there can be some leniency or some pardons for these citations, until things normalize," said the caller, Cynthia, who was asking the question for her partner, an Instacart worker. "It feels like he's just working to pay off these citations."
"It's a very fair question, you're actually the first person to raise it to me," de Blasio replied. "We'll come back with a bigger policy on this."
At least five drivers have also crashed into restaurants operating in the streets since the mayor started the policy, most recently on Thursday, when a hit-and-run driver injured a woman who was dining at Cafe Alula on Franklin Street in Greenpoint.
Asked what additional measures the de Blasio administration was taking to protect New Yorkers using the Open Streets from dangerous drivers, a DOT spokesperson pointed to a PR campaign. "Drivers should always exercise extra caution around these setups, which also require reflectors to warn oncoming traffic," the spokesperson said.
Tagged
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COVID-19
vision zero
open streets
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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