Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
DOT

Eyes on the Street: This Year’s First “Street Seats” Have Begun to Sprout

4:20 PM EDT on May 29, 2015

Photo: NYC DOT/Twitter
A Street Seat on Duane Street was installed this week. Photo: NYC DOT/Twitter
Photo: NYC DOT/Twitter

It's Street Seats season -- the time of year when curbside seating replaces parking to reclaim some space for people, at least for the summer.

Street Seats are installed by DOT. The seats, which fold up at night, are maintained by an adjacent sponsoring business and are open to the public. DOT received 22 applications for Street Seats this year, the most in the program's six-year history, and approved 13 locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.

Some seats have already been installed, with more coming in the next few weeks, before they will be removed in November.

Photos: Charles Komanoff
Before and after on Duane Street. Photos: Charles Komanoff
Photos: Charles Komanoff

One of the first Street Seats on the ground is outside Laughing Man Coffee and Tea on Duane Street in Tribeca. The project almost didn't happen because DOT requires community board approval before installing the seats. In March, Community Board 1 members worried that more space for pedestrians would create a street safety danger. Ultimately, the plan squeaked through the local committee, 4-3, before passing the full board later in the month, according to the Tribeca Trib.

The complete list of Street Seats installed so far this year, from DOT:

    • 60, 62 and 66 Pearl Street, Manhattan
    • 144 Sullivan Street, Manhattan
    • 111 Lawrence Street, Brooklyn
    • 192 Duffield Street, Brooklyn
    • 184 Duane Street, Manhattan

The following locations will be getting street seats in the coming weeks:

    • 120 Essex Street, Manhattan
    • 1040 Grand Concourse, the Bronx
    • 1686 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn
    • 65 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
    • 16-20 Jefferson Street aka 173 Henry Street, Manhattan
    • 421 and 423 E. 149th Street, the Bronx
    • 410 E. 148th Street, the Bronx
    • 425 Mother Gaston Boulevard, Brooklyn

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Tuesday’s Headlines: Gridlock Alert — And Gridlock Abort — Day Edition

A "Gridlock Alert" day is a perfect day for supporters of congestion pricing to rally in Union Square! Plus other news.

December 5, 2023

‘Crazy Nonsense’: City Now Allows (Cough) Plateless Vehicles to (Cough) Break Idling Law

City environmental protection officials are now refusing to punish owners of commercial vehicles for idling if the trucks don't have license plates — a move that has enraged citizen enforcers.

December 5, 2023

The Explainer: What’s Next for Congestion Pricing?

Let's run through the major issues still looming over New York City's first-in-the-nation congestion toll.

December 4, 2023

Monday’s Headlines: Congestion Ahead Edition

Good news: We're not going to start our week with our typical ascent on our long-legged steed to criticize the Times for its flawed, car-centric coverage. Plus other news.

December 4, 2023
See all posts