‘Game-Changer’: Non-Profit Throws Financial Lifeline to Open Streets Program

Call it Citizens united, only better.

The non-profit Citizens Committee for New York City fund operating expenses for open streets volunteer organizations — and fill neighborhood groups’ coffers at the beginning of the season rather than making the groups wait months to get expenses reimbursed — as part of the Department of Transportation’s effort to address community groups’ complaints.

The new arrangement for the 2026 open street season will provide volunteer groups with an immediate lifeline before the start of the season — and, in theory, won’t leave them, as they had previously been left, waiting months after it ends to be reimbursed.

The new policy of furnishing 40 percent of the money up front is likely to please open street organizers.

“Is really going to be a huge game-changer for the program, and it’ll just really make it a lot easier to start an open street,” said John Surico, the chairperson of the 31st Avenue Open Street in Astoria.

The CitizensNYC grants will cover up to $20,000 — the same amount of money the city contributed in years past — for open streets groups to pay for staff and management, programming and maintenance. Open street organizations need to pay for these expenses in order to make the streets fun and welcoming places to hang out.

According to a recent DOT presentation to open streets volunteer organizations, the city believes the new grant system run by the famed non-profit will offer a streamlined process for collecting invoices and disbursing money.

“Open Streets help transform ordinary city blocks into community gathering spaces for families, friends, and neighbors — but locations are also often run by groups of neighbors or small organizations that rely on support from the city to thrive,” said DOT spokesperson Vin Barone. “The new payment model is the result of more than a year of planning to meet the unique needs of this program and will help get funds to locations faster to support community programing and events, operations and maintenance, and other amenities that New Yorkers love about their Open Streets.”

Surico said that current open street operators had been in a tricky dance with the city over whether they could buy certain things — such as street furniture, storage space or even regular programming — without knowing when the city would reimburse them. Getting even some of the expenses paid for at the start of the season will allow operators to focus more on actually making the open street work instead of figuring out what to pay for out of pocket.

“This will just take so much pressure off that kind of dance we have to do every year to make sure our books are covered,” he said.

When the open streets program started, DOT was able to give open street volunteer organizations 100 percent of their funding upfront each year, thanks to the pandemic-era the Inflation Reduction Act that, in part, mitigated the impacts of Covid-19. But those millions slowly ran out, forcing the city to find other ways to quickly and efficiently get funding for open streets to the organizations that run them.

“It’s a great idea and should help us, assuming the funds are released quickly,” said Lonnie Hardy, the director of the Caldwell Enrichment Program, which runs the one-block Jennings Street open street in the Bronx.

The Mamdani administration caught flak from open streets organizers when the mayor’s budget didn’t increase funding for the overall program. Open street operators that aren’t run by organizations like a local business improvement district see the new policy as a tremendous lifeline.

“This ensures that we’re able to pay all our expenses for the year, whereas previously if we didn’t have that money in the bank you were out of luck,” said Alex Morano, a board member of Prospect Heights Open Streets, the local organization that took over the Vanderbilt Avenue open street for 2026. “For small groups it’s really hard, and so to see the folks at DOT make this change after we’ve been pushing for for years really is a testament to their commitment to making the program work. It’s just great.”