New Report Identifies Significant Inequities in Mayor de Blasio’s Open Streets Program And Calls For Permanent Infrastrastructure and Expansion to Neighborhoods Left Out

For Immediate Release

October 12, 2021

Graphics, photos available for download: Here

Report crosstabs available: Here

Less than half - 46 percent - of listed Open Streets are operational, including just 16 percent in the Bronx.

Only 24 miles of Open Streets are active after Mayor de Blasio set goal of 100 miles of Open Streets.

Report calls for Open Streets to become 24/7 operational, with more effective, permanent infrastructure.

NEW YORK — Mayor de Blasio has failed to create an Open Streets program that serves all New Yorkers equitably, according to a new report released today by Transportation Alternatives (TA). The new report, Open Streets Forever: The Case for Permanent 24/7 Open Streets, is based on a massive data collection effort, including nearly 800 reports from volunteer surveyors who visited every single Open Street, all 274, across the five boroughs this summer.  The report finds that despite Mayor de Blasio’s State of the City promise that, “equity and inclusion will be at the heart of the Open Streets expansion,” Mayor de Blasio’s Open Streets program suffers from failures of equitable implementation and infrastructure, and a deeply unfair planning process. 

While the program has had a significant positive impact in the neighborhoods it currently serves, in other neighborhoods it has been inequitable in planning and in execution, and is failing to live up to its potential. The report highlights the need for this beloved and vital streets program to be distributed equitably across the city and how Open Streets reduce traffic violence, reduce pollution, and provide climate resiliency.

“This report makes one thing clear: New Yorkers love Open Streets, and they want to see them succeed,” said Danny Harris, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “However, Mayor de Blasio has broken his promise to expand the program equitably. All communities deserve Open Streets and the health, climate, and safety benefits they provide. The future of New York City streets must be built around people, not cars, and Open Streets are a key tool to reach our NYC 25x25 vision. We demand that New York City elected officials make urgent changes to ensure the Open Streets program has the support it needs to succeed and grow, especially in communities currently left out.”

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The report found Open Streets, when successful, are popular, beloved, effective, and lifesaving, but that problematically, the temporary, emergency nature of the program, as it was when the COVID-19 pandemic started, has stuck. The solution is for the City of New York to ensure that Open Streets no longer operate as temporary and crisis-related, but as permanent resources for New Yorkers.

Key findings from the report:

  • Just one in five New Yorkers live within walking distance of an active Open Street;

  • The majority of listed Open Streets were non-operational in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. In the Bronx, 84 percent of listed Open Streets did not exist in practice. In Queens and Brooklyn respectively, 69 and 60 percent of listed Open Streets were non-existent;

  • Households within walking distance of highly-rated Open Streets were more than twice as likely to earn over $200,000. Every income bracket below $75,000 was more likely to live within walking distance of a poorly-rated Open Street than a highly-rated one; and

  • As a positive: Active Open Streets lead to huge reductions in traffic injuries. Comparing the 12 months before COVID-19 versus the 12 months since the Open Streets program launched, there have been 42 percent fewer pedestrian and 50 percent fewer motorist injuries on active Open Streets. While cyclist injuries increased 20 percent citywide, cyclist injuries decreased 17 percent on Open Streets.

The report also found significant inequities in the quality of Open Streets across the city. Black, Latino, and low-income New Yorkers were also significantly more likely to live near a poorly-rated Open Street, and white and non-Latino New Yorkers were significantly more likely to live near a highly-rated Open Street.

To address these inequities, the report calls on the City to immediately make changes to strengthen the Open Streets program, so it can truly provide space to communities, and so that space is not overrun by cars like any other street. In October, legislation passed by the City Council went into effect, requiring the City to make the Open Streets program permanent, expand it in underserved neighborhoods, and to create and operate at least 20 Open Streets, but little has been done to this effect. While TA eagerly awaits the City meeting the demands of the law, TA’s research demonstrates that we need to do more. Open Streets need to become  a permanent, 24/7 fixture of the streetscape that gives space back to communities. Open Streets need infrastructure that ensures they can be used by community members and provide benefits to neighborhoods facing poor air quality, increased traffic violence, and lack of open space. The administration must also conduct an in-depth audit of neighborhoods to determine where Open Streets are needed the most.

Some additional recommendations from the report include:

  • Make every Open Street permanent and 24/7 with substantial infrastructure;

  • Redesign Open Streets to eliminate or reduce on-street parking, slow vehicle speeds to five miles per hour, and discourage car traffic;

  • Lengthen all Open Streets to a minimum of a half mile;

  • Close a street outside every New York City school to create School Open Streets;

  • Develop New York City’s first low-traffic neighborhoods surrounding Open Streets in areas of the city where car-ownership is especially low; and

  • Prioritize and fund Open Streets to target neighborhoods that need them the most, including neighborhoods that have borne the brunt of racist planning, have higher air pollution, and higher rates of traffic crashes.

"The Open Streets program has been a vital lifeline for many New Yorkers during the pandemic, expanding open space while allowing small businesses to remain open thanks to increased foot traffic. But as this new report makes clear, the distribution of the program has been profoundly unequal, and Black and Brown New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs are far less likely to have access to an Open Street. As we consider what our city's streetscape should look like post-COVID, we must do a better job of ensuring the benefits of Open Streets reach New Yorkers that need them most. I thank Transportation Alternatives for highlighting the need for a more equitable planning process, and their advocacy on this issue," said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.

“Open Streets has been a transformational program for our City, reclaiming our streets for children, seniors, and communities. I’m proud of this Council for pushing for an open streets plan and playing a pivotal role in making it a reality in the last 20 months. It’s critical that we recommit to our Open Streets infrastructure now and in the years to come, and make sure we are providing this space equitably across the City. Our streets belong to our people, and we need to keep it that way,” said City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.

"The Open Streets program is a successful model of the sort of quick-build mentality we should bring to transportation and infrastructure projects citywide. It proves that we can transform the way our city works for everyday New Yorkers as long as we have the imagination bold enough to realize it." said Council Member Carlina Rivera. "Open Streets have connected us to our neighbors in a way that few programs have before. We must now prioritize the equitable expansion of this permanent program with the resources necessary to return open space to the people."

“The NYC Open Streets program has the potential to bring improvements to our communities, from prioritizing safety for cyclists and pedestrians, improving air quality, to reducing traffic violence,” said Council Member Kevin C. Riley. “However, many areas in the Bronx, including District 12, have not been given accessibility to experience these benefits. Underserved communities and their members deserve equality in programming that is designed to strengthen the quality of living. Changes must be brought to improve and expand the Open Streets program to adequately serve every borough in NYC.”

“For the past year and a half, New Yorkers have relied on safe, open spaces to connect with their communities and, for those that live farther from parks, Open Streets have been essential. The new Open Streets Forever report shows that we have a lot to improve upon and that Open Streets programs were inequitably implemented. We look forward to working with New York City elected officials in making urgent changes and make Open Streets permanently  available to all New Yorkers,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

"Open Streets offer safe passage to subway and bus stops and complement our public transit system in affording New Yorkers access to our city. But like public transit itself, Open Streets must become far more equitable. All New Yorkers are entitled to the benefits of open streets, from cleaner air to greater resilience to inclusive public space. City Hall must do much better to leverage our scarcest shared resource — our streets — for the majority of New Yorkers who don't regularly drive down them,” said Betsy Plum, Executive Director of the Riders Alliance. 

"Transportation Alternatives’ excellent Open Streets Forever report underscores that the city is once again failing to implement crucial safety and quality-of-life efforts in an equitable manner. That the neighborhoods that need good Open Streets most are getting the least from the program should be a wake-up call to City Hall to immediately do better. The immense popularity of Open Streets in places where they’ve been well executed shows how much New Yorkers want to be able to walk and bike and recreate in safe, car-free spaces, and clearly shows the need for expanded sidewalks, low-speed streets, and better design throughout the five boroughs,” said Eric McClure, Executive Director of StreetsPAC

"The Jennings Street Open Street has been an incredible resource for our neighborhood, especially for children,” said Lonnie Hardy, Organizer of the Jennings Street Open Street in the Bronx. “With no nearby community center, Jennings Street served as an outdoor community center over the summer, where kids could play and get out their energy on a street closed to cars. Sadly, without any funding, we have not been able to continue the Open Street. This is a huge loss for our Bronx community. I hope that there will be much more funding and support for Open Streets so Jennings Street can come alive again and serve our neighbors. A program as successful as this cannot be limited. We need Open Streets everywhere." 

“It is critical that the City provide the staffing and infrastructure needed to ensure that the Open Streets program is truly open to all. We can not allow for our most vulnerable and under-resourced communities to be deprived of the benefits of Open Streets and must proactively address the inequity that has played out even if it was unintentional. To ignore it is to condone structural racism,” said Evie Hantzopoulos, an organizer for the 31st Ave Open Street Collective in Queens. 

“34th Avenue Open Street has provided a space for the community to come together, bringing a silver lining to a dark cloud of the past 18 months.  Each morning, a sea of students move safely to the schools along the avenue and each afternoon they flood back onto the street laughing and joking around after school in a safe environment.  Daily classes of yoga, Zumba and salsa are matched with classes teaching adults English and children how to read and write Spanish.  It has been one an open air community center for all. Rethinking how we use our street space has built a stronger community,” said Nuala O'Doherty-Naranjo, co-founder of the 34th Ave. Open Street Coalition.

"Our Open Street has brought traffic calming and community programs to Ave B, but has relied for a year and a half on volunteer muscle. Although we applaud our elected officials that have championed this program and the City Cleanup Corps' work so far, there are still resources that we lack as a volunteer group — liability insurance and staff to attend barricades at programs and handle volunteer coordination, for example. And, with our current city-mandated barrier configuration, we have little recourse to keep through traffic and double parking at bay. We hope the DOT, current and incoming mayoral administrations will take the report's findings into account and implement permanent infrastructure and staffing to preserve Open Streets' benefits not only in our neighborhood but in all other communities across the city that lack adequate public space,” said Sophie Maerowitz, Co-Founder, Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition. 

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