NYC’s Open Streets season kicked off on Earth Day and is now in full swing, with 132 locations throughout the five boroughs being cordoned off for pedestrian activity on a weekly basis. More streets are expected to ‘open,’ but there are already a record number of participants since the initiative launched during the pandemic.
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Here are the three types of Open Streets (per the DOT):
Limited Local Access: Streets designated for pedestrian and cyclist use during specified times each week. Vehicles can access the locations for “parking, collecting or dropping off passengers, making deliveries and loading, Access-A-Ride vehicle access, or emergency vehicle access. Drivers are advised to drive 5 MPH.”
Full Closure: These are streets which are temporarily closed to all vehicles to “allow for a range of car-free activities that support local businesses, community organizations, and schools, to create a space for the public to gather. Emergency access and an emergency lane must be clear at all times for emergency vehicle access.”
Full Closure: Schools: Street that is temporarily closed to vehicles to support schools for drop-off and pick-up operations, recess, and outdoor learning.
Here are this year’s Upper East Side Open Streets and the organizations managing them (as of writing; you can view the full list for all of NYC here):
East 73rd Street between Park and Lexington avenues
Full Closure
Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The Buckley School
East 89th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues
Full Closure: Schools
Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saint David’s School
East 91st Street between Park and Madison avenues
Full Closure: Schools
Monday-Friday from 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The Dalton School
East 92nd Street between Fifth and Madison avenues
Full Closure: Schools
Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Nightingale Bamford School
