Car-Free Streets

Don’t Forget That “Summer Streets” Starts Saturday

Oh, but wouldn't it be great if Manhattan was always car-free?

By Gersh Kuntzman

4:34 PM EDT on August 3, 2018

The final Summer Streets of 2013 is tomorrow. Photo: ##http://www.flickr.com/photos/nycstreets/6076947780/##NYC DOT##

See how great Manhattan can be without cars!

Welcome to the first of three “Summer Streets” days — when New Yorkers get their annual reminder of how great Manhattan could be if there were no cars.

Of course, the Department of Transportation’s 11th annual car-free event only covers a narrow corridor — seven miles from Central Park, down Park Avenue to Lafayette Avenue to Centre Street to the Brooklyn Bridge — and it’s only for the first three Saturdays of August, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The detailed Summer Streets map (see image below) highlights five “rest stops” along the way, where DOT offers cultural, fitness, musical, culinary and sports programming, including a zip line in Foley Square and a rock climbing wall near Astor Place, where DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg will kick off the festivities with a press conference and photo op at 8:30 a.m. (Full list is here.)

There’s no question people enjoy Summer Streets, but Streetsblog has long argued that its vision of a car-free Manhattan needs to be greatly expanded — and probably could be if it wasn’t so expensive due to heavy police presence.

And if the full Summer Streets isn’t your bag, there are smaller car-free events as part of DOT’s “Weekend Walks” series this Saturday, including those on Glenwood Road between Nostrand and Flatbush (featuring the Roots); E. 186th St. between Arthur and Hughes, and on Hughes Avenue between Crescent and E. 187th; and the Coney Island Music Festival on
Stillwell Avenue between Surf and Bowery, and on Bowery from W. 12th to W. 15th.

Gersh Kuntzman

Tabloid legend Gersh Kuntzman has been with New York newspapers since 1989, including stints at the New York Daily News, the Post, the Brooklyn Paper and even a cup of coffee with the Times. He's also the writer and producer of "Murder at the Food Coop," which was a hit at the NYC Fringe Festival in 2016, and “SUV: The Musical” in 2007. He also writes the Cycle of Rage column, which is archived here.

Car-Free Streets | DOT | Midtown

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