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NYC looks to grow involvement in Open Streets as applications open for 2027
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 14, 2026
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Barry Winiker / Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 14, 2026
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New York City's Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for the 2027 Open Streets season.
Community groups, schools, business groups and other organizations such as houses of worship can apply to transform streets in their neighborhoods into community spaces. Sites will be chosen based on partner capacity and equity goals set by the DOT, according to the city’s application.
DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration is committed to growing the Open Streets program, which was born out of a need for more open public spaces to allow for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That crisis forced our city to think about how we use our streets and open them up to a wider range of uses that benefit our communities,” he said. “Now we're taking the lessons learned and building them into our streets in more permanent ways.”
Open Streets close the designated blocks off to traffic to all and happen on recurring, weekly schedules. Last year, a report by then-City Comptroller Brad Lander found that the program had shrunk under the Adams administration from its pandemic peak, and that it was highly concentrated in Manhattan.
The DOT said it expects to share more information about the 2027 installment of Open Streets as it gets closer, but said the Mamdani administration has increased funding for the program after COVID-era relief funding dried up. It highlighted an approximate $3 million increase for this fiscal year to $26.6 million for Open Streets and other public space programs that share the same budget line.
The DOT also said this week it had finished construction to benefit the Open Street on Manhattan’s Avenue B, from East Fourth Street to East 14th Street, in the area near Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. There will be expanded pedestrian space and cycling improvements, redesigned intersections and one-way vehicle traffic reversals. New loading zones at the start and end of each block are also intended to help reduce truck traffic along the corridor.
Next year’s iteration will include a simplified payment system, formalized concession seating areas designated for exclusive use by restaurants, and added support for Open Street: Schools, according to the DOT. The schools program allows spaces to be temporarily closed to vehicles to let schools use the areas in front of their buildings for activities like recess, outdoor learning, lunch, assemblies and safe pick-up or drop-off.
Sabina Sethi Unni, a schools planner with advocacy organization Open Plans, said she was thrilled to see the application include a section for applicants to recommend permanent infrastructure that would enhance Open Streets. She said things like permanent swing gates would be helpful for schools that don’t have extensive staffing — instead of having to move barricades to let people in and out of areas. But she added she wished it was even easier to apply.
“I want there to be zero barriers to entry for a school to participate in this program, we can learn a lot from cities like Seattle, who have a really simple questionnaire,” she said.
Application deadline dates vary depending on the types of street closures being requested. Programs requesting the full closure of a street will exclusive areas for restaurants must be in by Nov. 13, for launch dates as soon as May 2027. Other programs looking to start as early as May 2027 — including for full street closures, or closures with limited access for local vehicles — have until the end of the year to apply. Schools can apply in two rounds, by December to start up as soon as May, or in May to start up as soon as next September.
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new york city
transportation
Catalina Gonella
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