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NYC's car-free Summer Streets 2026 begins Saturday. First up: Queens and Staten Island.
By
Apolline Lamy
Published Jul 23, 2026
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Christina Horsten/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
By
Apolline Lamy
Published Jul 23, 2026
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For five Saturdays starting this weekend, there won’t be a single car on several New York City streets.
Summer Streets — the city’s pedestrian-focused festival of art popups, musical events, vendors, fitness classes, interactive demonstrations and other attractions, held since 2008 and expanded to all five boroughs in 2023 — is returning, beginning with road closures and celebrations Saturday on Staten Island and in Queens from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Throughout more than a month of events, more than 20 miles of the city will be car-free.
This weekend’s event includes:
- Vernon Boulevard in Queens from 44th to 30th drives. You might enjoy views of the East River or make stops at the Noguchi Museum, the Socrates Sculpture Park or the Astoria Pool while you’re out there.
- Broadway on Staten Island from Richmond Terrace to Harvest Avenue. It’s a stretch that includes Corporal Thompson Park and gets you close to the Staten Island Zoo.
Then, for three Saturdays in a row between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., you can walk the length of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge to the area of Broadway and Dyckman Street, with more events following in Brooklyn and the Bronx for the final weekend in August.
City officials said more than 500,000 people participate every year.
This year, the city is highlighting the first Knicks championship in over 50 years. As part of that celebration, the Department of Transportation is bringing the Knicks championship parade sign to Summer Streets events in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, and raffling off replicas.
Anyone attending will be automatically entered into the raffle by taking a selfie with the Knicks sign, mounted on a Department of Transportation truck, and tagging @NYC_DOT in a public post or story on Instagram. Participants must be following @NYC_DOT for their entries to count.
New York Road Runners, the nonprofit that organizes races including the New York City Marathon, will host a free, beginner-athlete-friendly walking and running event on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. on Vernon Boulevard, as well as in Manhattan on Aug. 1 and the Bronx on Aug. 22.
During Saturday’s first-weekend events, New Yorkers can also save up to $10 on Citi Bike rides with the code SUMMER2WHEEL.
The schedule for upcoming weekends is:
-
Aug. 1, 8, and 15 in Manhattan, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., from the Brooklyn Bridge to Broadway and Dyckman Street, along the following streets:
- Lafayette Street and Park Avenue between Brooklyn Bridge and East 110th Street
- East 110th Street between Park Avenue and Broadway
- Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between West 110th and 113th streets
- Broadway between West 110th and Dyckman streets
-
Aug. 22 in the Bronx, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Grand Concourse from East Tremont Avenue to Mosholu Parkway
-
Aug. 22 in Brooklyn, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Eastern Parkway from Grand Army Plaza to Buffalo Avenue.
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Existing in New York City
events
new york city
queens
Apolline Lamy
Apolline Lamy is a reporting intern on the Day-of Desk. She is studying for her master's degree from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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