New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced on August 28 that the agency is launching 71 Open Streets at schools across the city, a record number of school-related Open Streets since the program launched during the height of the pandemic.
Open Streets for schools enhance safety for kids, help facilitate smoother pick-ups and drop-offs for parents and guardians and create new space for outdoor play and learning, according to a press release.
This year’s number of Open Streets for schools is the direct result of NYC DOT’s concerted efforts to grow the program through new funding and partnerships.
“The streets have historically been a place for children to play and socialize—and through our Open Streets program, we have created a new framework to give this space back to our school children to safely learn, develop new skills, and make pick-ups and drop-offs much easier for parents and guardians,” said Rodriguez.
The growth in Open Streets at schools has also been fueled by a new partnership between NYC DOT and the nonprofit Street Lab, which works directly with schools to pilot and establish new Open Streets. Street Lab works with schools in these neighborhoods to help launch and establish new Open Streets, helping with permits, planning with the school and community and transforming streets with furniture, activities and people.
Street Lab’s efforts have yielded eight Open Streets for schools, with another 15 sites currently under exploration, the press release said.
“We’re seeing something beautiful on these Open Streets next to schools—kids, parents, caregivers, and teachers talking with each other, laughing, running through an obstacle course, even reading a book, all together on the street,” said Leslie Davol, executive director of Street Lab. “This is about more than changing streets, it is about giving people the feeling of walking out the school doors into a public space that feels safer, healthier and more connected."
This year’s historic expansion is thanks to NYC DOT’s recent $30 million commitment to create and sustain high-quality public spaces like plazas and Open Streets, through the city’s Public Space Equity Program (PSEP). Through the program, the city can provide maintenance, horticultural care, financial subsidies, and more to support Open Streets, plazas, and other spaces. The funding is specifically allocated for under-resourced neighborhoods, where organizations need additional support, to advance equitable placement of plazas and Open Streets across the city.
In addition to PSEP resources, NYC DOT in 2025 will for the first time offer funding to schools for Open Streets management, operations and programming. Applications for 2025 Open Streets will open in October and will include further details about how schools can apply for and receive funding.
NYC DOT remains committed to delivering permanent redesigns to existing Open Streets. In 2024, redesigns will be or have already been implemented on W.9th St. and Watkins St. in Brooklyn.
2024 Open Streets Brooklyn School Locations
PS 118 | Seventh Street |
PS 152 | E.23rd Street |
Brooklyn RISE Charter School | Hanover Place |
PS 169 Sunset Park School | 43rd Street |
The Dock Street School for STEAM Studies | Dock Street |
PS 146 Brooklyn New School | Rapelye Street |
PS 137 Rachel Jean Mitchell | Bainbridge Street |
Middle School 88 | 18th Street |
Saint Saviour Catholic Academy | Seventh Street |
PS 159 The Isaac Pitkin School | Hemlock Street |
Hellenic Classical Charter Schools | 18th Street |
Riverdale Avenue Community School | Strauss Street |
