Car-Free Streets

It's been an on-again, off-again tradition for at least two decades: Turning the center lanes of the Grand Concourse into a car-free space for stress-free walking, biking and exercise. With an overwhelming vote of support from Community Board 4 earlier this week, it seems this tradition is poised for a return this summer.

Okay, New York. You've had two chances so far this August to get out of bed, off the couch, and outside to Summer Streets. This is your final warning.

Saturday was the second of three Summer Streets this August, with car-free streets along Park Avenue and Lafayette Street from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge. Couldn't make it yourself? Clarence Eckerson Jr. from Streetfilms, as always, has got you covered.

Summer Streets is back for week two tomorrow. Expect sunny skies, warm temps, and laughter emanating from the Voice Tunnel. Oh, and no cars.

If you're looking for summertime recreation, I have just the spot for you. New York's hottest club is Summer Streets.

Beginning next week, Central Park's north loop will be closed to cars for two months, DOT announced today.

On Saturday, ten blocks of the Bedford Avenue retail strip were closed to cars and open to people for Williamsburg Walks, one of the first neighborhood car-free events to partner with DOT's Weekend Walks program. The street was full of people enjoying the sunny weather -- at chairs and tables, listening to live music, playing games, lounging on grass, and stopping in at shops and restaurants along the way.

Because of its proximity to Central Park, you might be forgiven for assuming East Harlem has plenty of open space. But a new report from New Yorkers for Parks argues that the neighborhood is isolated from many of its parks by busy roads and other barriers. Streets and sidewalks, the group says, can play a crucial role in encouraging physical activity as part of the neighborhood's fight against above-average asthma and obesity problems.

We interrupt our post-Sandy coverage to bring you these pictures from Halloween last night at the 78th Street Play Street in Jackson Heights. The Jackson Heights Green Alliance put on the event, "Trick or Treat in the Street," and Streetfilms' Clarence Eckerson sent over these photos. This is the kind of thing residents can do in the neighborhood after a successful grassroots campaign to permanently repurpose this block, which used to be a through street for motor vehicle traffic, as a public space.