School children participate in activities with Street Lab on an Open Street: School. Credit: Street Lab
The New York City Department of Transportation announced on Thursday that it plans to launch 71 Open Streets around schools across the five boroughs, including four on the Upper East Side–a record since the program was initiated during the pandemic. The program is being funded in part by the DOT’s Public Space Equity program, a $30 million initiative to “create and sustain high-quality public space.”
Advertisement
The Upper East side locations include Saint David’s School at 12 East 89th Street (between Fifth and Madison avenues), the Dalton School at 53 East 91st Street (between Park and Lexington avenues), the Buckley School at 113 East 73rd Street (between Park and Lexington avenues), and the Allen-Stevenson School at 132 East 78th Street (between Park and Lexington avenues).
Although the Open Streets locations on the Upper East Side are, at this point, all near private schools, the borough-wide initiative, which was launched in 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily includes public schools. A representative from the DOT indicated that the UES streets were not intentionally chosen by the city because of their proximity to private schools. Rather, because the program is community-led and groups like BIDs, neighborhood coalitions, schools and others participate, it just so happened to end up this way.
“The streets have historically been a place for children to play and socialize—and through our Open Streets program, we have created a new framework to give this space back to our school children to safely learn, develop new skills, and make pick-ups and drop-offs much easier for parents and guardians,” NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a press release. “This record achievement is thanks to our concerted effort to deliver new funding to the Open Streets program as well as our new partnerships with organizations like Street Lab, which help connect communities to this great concept and provide delightful programming for kids.”
These open street permits allow participating schools to temporarily close streets to vehicles for drop-off and pickups, recess and play, as well as outdoor leaning initiatives. The program used to be called “Playstreets.” The Open Streets program was codified into law this past spring.
Advertisement
“We’re seeing something beautiful on these Open Streets next to schools—kids, parents, caregivers, and teachers talking with each other, laughing, running through an obstacle course, even reading a book, all together on the street,” said Leslie Davol, executive director of Street Lab. “This is about more than changing streets, it is about giving people the feeling of walking out the school doors into a public space that feels safer, healthier, and more connected. We’ve had a flood of requests from more schools that want to start an Open Street, and we’re aiming to work with as many as we can.”
More information on each location’s hours of operation is available on the DOT’s website.
