Three cheers for Summer Streets! Another 2024 Public Space Awardee
Years before Open Streets started to transform neighborhoods across the five boroughs, there was Summer Streets. Started in 2008, this Department of Transportation program was New York’s first large-scale look at how we could reclaim city streets to be used by people for walking, rolling, running, biking, skating, playing, dancing and, most importantly, connecting. Today the Summer Streets weekends are still wildly popular and now transform 20 miles of city streets into people-centered havens. The scale of this program is what makes it so exciting — in Manhattan you can walk from the tip to the top of the island in the middle of a spacious, car-free street.
And the scale is getting even bigger. In 2023, DOT announced the biggest expansion in the program’s history — bringing Summer Streets to all five boroughs and extending the Manhattan program into Harlem. They also expanded the number of weekends for the popular program. This dedication to growing Summer Streets and giving New Yorkers more of what they want is the reason Open Plans is giving DOT the Citywide Transformation Award at this year’s Public Space Awards on Thursday, February 29th.
In 2023, DOT expanded the Summer Streets to all five boroughs and extended the Manhattan program into Harlem. Screenshot: NYC Department of Transportation | Photo credit (Inset): NYC Department of Transportation Flickr
We’re not the only ones who have something to say about Summer Streets! New Yorkers everywhere took the time last year to send letters cheering on the expansion of the program, and asking for even more. Their words, and these fabulous photos taken by the DOT, really highlight the special feeling this program creates.
You can celebrate DOT and Summer Streets right along with us by coming to the Second Annual Public Space Awards on Thursday, February 29th! The party will be filled with everyday New Yorkers and city leaders who are shaping the way we use our city. You can see DOT accept their Citywide Transformation Award alongside the Flatbush Nostrand Junction BID and three other awardees who love New York City as much as we do. Get your ticket today! We look forward to seeing you there.
Photo credit: NYC Department of Transportation Flickr
