Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Park Slope

Wednesday’s Headlines: Four for Fifth Edition

The good news? There's a new operator for the Fifth Avenue open street. The bad news? It's four blocks, down from 15 last year. Plus other news.

Well, at least there will be an open street on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn this year.

You may recall previous Streetsblog reporting about how the organizers of the Fifth Avenue open street in Brooklyn had bailed due to a lack of cash, forcing the Department of Transportation to find a new volunteer or business group to run the popular weekend car-free street.

The good news? The DOT has inked a deal with the Fifth Avenue Open Streets Merchants Association to operate the open street, which will be in place every Saturday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.

The bad news? What was once 15 blocks of blissful promenade in 2023 will shrink to just four this year, according to DOT's 2024 slate of open streets released last week.

But at least we now know.

In other news:

  • In Brooklyn, many of us went to a protest and a seder broke out. Naturally, the Post and the Times were there, but so was omnipresent Liam Quigley, sharing a thread:
  • All the outlets (including Streetsblog!) covered the barrage of questions Mayor Adams received about his apparent choice of Randy Mastro to be corporate counsel. (NYDN, NY Post, NY Times, The City, Crain's)
  • Bus riders did not win big in the state budget. (Crain's)
  • The MTA should do more to promote its bathrooms, says Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. (NY Post)
  • Speaking of renovations, here's the latest list of re-NEW-vations coming to the subway. (amNY)
  • Council Member Kamillah Hanks of Staten Island wants more OMNY machines. (Gothamist)
  • And, finally, the mayor said at his weekly press conference that "nothing brings us a greater level of comfort than having that blue uniform," but Riders Alliance's Derrick Holmes found plenty of riders who disagree:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think

Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?

October 24, 2025

Hundreds of Community Groups — From the Conservatives to the Socialists! — Demand Daylighting

Two hundred New York City groups from across the ideological spectrum joined calls to ban parking at corners in order to improve safety and visibility, also known as daylighting.

October 24, 2025

OPINION: Canal Street — Not The Vendors — Is the Problem

If Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor — and is true to his vision for a fair, livable city — he will have to take on this long-ignored corridor. Here's how.

October 24, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: Bicycles Are Not Cars So They Shouldn’t Have to Follow the Same Rules

The default in nearly all states is to impose the same traffic rules on bicycles as on motor vehicles even though the needs of cyclists are so different.

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Today’s the Day Edition

Mayor Adams's new 15 mph speed limit is officially goes into effect today. Plus more news.

October 24, 2025

Cough, Cough: DEP Considers Largest Ever Exemption Request to City’s Anti-Idling Law

Academy Bus claims no technological alternatives exist for heating and cooling buses without idling. Advocates warn an exemption would "gut" the city's 50-year-old idling ban.

October 23, 2025
See all posts