From successful advocacy outcomes to newfound freedoms in public spaces, 2023 has been an eventful year. In this edition of the newsletter, the Open Plans team looks back and shares their thanksgiving tidings.

Asking people how they met their favorite people is infinitely interesting. Woven through these stories are shared values, shared vision, sometimes a shared love of food or books. In our case, it’s our shared love of New York City and the streets in our neighborhood.

Holidays are more fun on people-centered streets. The magic of people-centered streets was on full display this fall. Thanks to DOT expanding on last year's first-ever Trick or Streets program, over 100 streets went car free in late October. Across the 5 boroughs, communities held costume parades, live music, candy giveaways, and Dia De Los Muertos altars.

Join the Open Plans community on Thursday, February 29th (leap day!) for a festive celebration of the people behind our city’s defining public spaces. From neighborhood-level ingenuity to citywide stewardship, the second annual Public Space Awards cheers the leaders and groups that nurture daily life in New York City’s public forum. Save the date and add it to your calendar!

Stop by our fun, one-day-only installation this Saturday, October 21, from 10AM to 6PM as part of the fabulous Open House New York Weekend. Ever wonder what it would look like if the city prioritized people over parking spots? And what you can do to make that vision a reality? We've cooked up an experience that will allow you to step inside a better, more livable future - one where our housing comes before cars.

On Saturday, October 21st, we're doing something totally new as part of Open House New York Weekend. A free, annual festival, OHNY Weekend offers insider looks into hundreds of interesting and noteworthy places in NYC. And we have created our own noteworthy place that you can step inside for one day only.

Today the Department of City Planning and Mayor Adams made a historic announcement — full, citywide elimination of parking mandates is included in the City of Yes Zoning for Housing Opportunity text amendment. This is huge, and something that Open Plans has been working on for years.

To celebrate back-to-school season, our Schools Planner Sabina Sethi Unni took over the newsletter today to share her work creating safe space for young New Yorkers.

Summer Streets is on a roll! And Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine plans to keep the momentum going. This month, we met up with BP Levine on a balmy Harlem block to enjoy the car-free festival ourselves — and we got some Q&A on camera.

It's official! New York City will permanently allow the curbspace in front of bars and restaurants to be used for outdoor seating — at least for part of the year. On Thursday, August 3rd, the City Council approved a permanent Open Restaurants bill that operates from April through October.

The City Council is poised to vote on a bill to create a permanent Open Restaurants program, but we need your help to make sure it gets through. Contact your City Council Member today and tell them to vote yes to create a permanent outdoor dining program!

The planet has experienced record-high temperatures already this summer, and we're certainly feeling the heat in New York City. Personal vehicles are a major cause of climate change; if we hope to address this crisis, we must pursue sweeping changes to the way we design for and encourage driving.