NYC Residents: Learn More About DOT’s Open Streets Program For This Summer, New Episode of Curb Enthusiasm

NYC DOT Kicks off 2026 Open Streets season, New Episode of Curb Enthusiasm

Editor’s note: Staten Islander News has covered the OpenStreets program before, including last year’s largest-ever number of OpenStreets at schools in the five boroughs.  Applications are currently open for new locations to become part of the program.  Learn more below.   You can see previous coverage of the Curb Enthusiasm podcast here. 

NYC DOT KICKS-OFF 2026 OPEN STREETS SEASON

Community-based organizations, schools, businesses, and other partners participate in New York City’s Open Streets program to reimagine the use of streets as public spaces.

NYC DOT supports more than 150 initial Open Streets across the five boroughs, applications remain open throughout the 2026 season.

Pedestrians walk along the Franklin Avenue Open Street in Brooklyn. Credit: Street Lab

NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today announced the launch of the Open Streets season with more than 150 initial locations operating across the city. The program provides more public space for New Yorkers to promote economic development, support schools, facilitate pedestrian and bike mobility, and provide new ways for New Yorkers to enjoy cultural programming and build community. Visit nyc.gov/OpenStreets to see locations and program hours.

“Open Streets provide an opportunity to showcase neighborhoods and strengthen local businesses by transforming roadways into spaces that encourage connection and community engagement,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “We appreciate the dedication of our community partners who help ensure these spaces are safe, lively, and welcoming while also helping to expand the program fairly and inclusively to neighborhoods across the city.”

This year, NYC DOT is partnering with CitizensNYC so Open Streets community partners across the city can access funding faster and with less administrative burden. CitizensNYC is one of New York City’s oldest microgrant making organizations, with 50 years of experience funding and supporting everyday New Yorkers working to strengthen their neighborhoods. Through this partnership with CitizensNYC, NYC DOT is launching a streamlined payment process for the 2026 Open Streets season.

The agency is also committed to redesigning existing Open Streets that benefit from traffic calming measures and streetscape elements to better prioritize pedestrians and cyclists and create world-class public spaces. This year’s redesigns include:

Avenue B 

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• Upcoming project is building on the success of the Open Street launched in 2020, managed by local organization Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition.

• The redesign of Avenue B from East 4th Street to East 12th Street aims to improve safety on the corridor with a focus on schools, formalize two-way cycling on the corridor to create safe cycling connections, and calm vehicular traffic.

Decatur Ave 

• There has been a successful Open Street since 2024 on Decatur from East 194th Street to East 195th Street, managed by the Decatur Black Association.

• The project consists of a raised midblock enhanced crossing and curb extensions to improve pedestrian safety and overall experience, reduce vehicle speeds, and support Open Street programming.

NYC DOT is continuing to accept applications for the 2026 Open Streets season on a rolling basis. Applications from educational institutions (such as schools (pre-K to 12), colleges, or universities) must be received by June 10, 2026, to receive an application decision by the start of the academic year in September 2026. All applications require a minimum of 90 days for review, but some applications may require further review. Visit nyc.gov/OpenStreets to apply.

“Open Streets are powered by the same force that drives New York City forward: neighbors stepping up to make their blocks more connected, more resilient, and safer,” said Julie L. Shapiro, CEO of CitizensNYC. “For more than 50 years, CitizensNYC has invested in grassroots leaders who know what their communities need and are ready to get to work. We’re proud to partner with NYC DOT to make it easier for Open Streets partners to access the resources they need to serve their neighborhoods and keep building a more open, welcoming, and community-powered city.”

For Grenada Built to Win, Inc., Open Streets 2026 represents what a community is supposed to feel like: families outside together, youth engaged, neighbors connected, and organizations working side-by-side to create something meaningful and lasting,” said Executive Director of Grenada Built to Win Inc Rasheem Jenkins. “Communities need connection, visibility, and opportunity for young people. Initiatives like Open Streets help restore the importance of presence, movement, culture, education, and togetherness throughout our city. We are honored to stand alongside our partners this season and help create experiences that remind youth and families across New York City that our communities are filled with possibility, energy, and people who genuinely care.”

NEW EPISODE OF NYC DOT’S CURB ENTHUSIASM PODCAST FEATURES DISCUSSION WITH STREETFILMS FOUNDER CLARENCE ECKERSON JR.

Second episode of the podcast’s second season features Streetfilms Founder Clarence Eckerson Jr., who has chronicled urban transportation design advancements locally, across the United States, and around the globe since 2005

The conversation focuses on the passion behind Streetfilms, Eckerson’s work covering the history of the 34^th Avenue Open Street in Queens, innovative transportation projects around the world he’s seen, the value of Open Streets by schools, and much more

NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Mike Flynn today announced the release of the second episode of the second season of the agency’s Curb Enthusiasm podcast. The episode features an in-depth conversation with Clarence Eckerson Jr., who founded Streetfilms in 2005 and has chronicled the transformation of New York City’s streets over the last three decades, in addition to his front row observation of urban transportation around the globe. This episode’s discussion addresses many highlights of NYC DOT’s portfolio, including Sunnyside’s 34^th Avenue Open Street, the subject of an upcoming hour-long documentary.

“Clarence Eckerson Jr. and Streetfilms need no introduction, and it’s an honor to have him appear on Curb Enthusiasm,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “He is a trailblazer in the urban transportation world who opens peoples’ eyes to what other cities around the world are doing with streets and public space and how that can succeed elsewhere. Clarence delivers an informative, creative, and entertaining platform to the transportation world and beyond.”

The episode also focuses on Streetfilms coverage of the Paris School Streets Initiative, the overall growth and benefits of New York’s Open Streets, the guest’s perspective from often filming while riding a bike, Low Traffic Neighborhoods and exterior boundary roads in London, traffic circulation advancements in Ghent, Belgium, as well as the daylighting, greening, and pedestrianization of Montreal, Eckerson’s favorite place to visit in North America. The co-hosts delve into the creative process behind Streetfilms, and Eckerson professes his affinity for center-running bike lanes in NYC.

Eckerson also briefly discusses the early history of pursuing a car-free Prospect Park and praises the continued evolution and expansion of NYC DOT’s Summer Streets. He also shares a story about how in 2008 the San Francisco Bike Coalition used his “Bogota, Ciclovia” film (2007) to convince the City of San Francisco, led by Mayor Gavin Newsom at the time, to implement a  version of the car-free streets event. The conversation closes with Eckerson expressing his enthusiasm for there being a new mayor of NYC and a new NYC DOT commissioner, and portends that this will yield more unique bike lanes and more bus-only lanes overall.

The Curb Enthusiasm podcast focuses on issues at the local, national, and international level and features guests who discuss the most consequential transportation work happening all over the globe.

The episode is hosted by Emily Weidenhof, assistant commissioner of public realm, and Sal Garro, coordinator of programming on the public realm team at NYC DOT.

Curb Enthusiasm is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, and other major streaming platforms. More information is available at nyc.gov/CurbEnthusiasm.

About Clarence Eckerson Jr.

A New York native, Clarence Eckerson Jr. founded Streetfilms in 2005, a project grown out of The Open Planning Project that produces short films highlighting smart transportation design and how policy, particularly in urban spaces, around the world improves peoples’ lives. Streetfilms has tens of millions of views across several platforms since its inception. He worked for several media companies and eventually opened his own, Trorb Productions. Eckerson also created BikeTV in 2002, a cable show highlighting cycling in the five boroughs and beyond. He served for three years as the head of Transportation Alternatives’s Brooklyn Committee.

Eckerson holds a bachelors’s degree in communications and media studies from the University of Albany.

About Emily Weidenhof, Episode Co-Host

Emily Weidenhof is assistant commissioner of public realm at NYC DOT. Emily works closely with community organizations throughout the five boroughs to transform their streets as public space. For over a decade, she has focused on strengthening communities through the creation of plazas and shared streets and retooling the curb lane for innovative programming. She’s also played an integral role in NYC DOT’s Broadway Vision Plan, which employs a range of tools to reimagine the famed Manhattan corridor from Union Square to Columbus Circle, which now prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists. Emily has worked as an architect and urban designer in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, including at the NYC Department of City Planning.

Emily received her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Pennsylvania State University and her master’s degree in architecture and urban design from Columbia University.

About Sal Garro, Episode Co-Host

Sal Garro is the coordinator of programming on the public realm team at the NYC Department of Transportation. He supports the planning and coordination of the Public Realm Programming initiative which connects public spaces, including Open Streets and Plazas, with local organizations to provide free and inclusive activities across the five boroughs. He leads the citywide harvest and Halloween-themed program, Trick-or-Streets, among other vital activations that engage communities and promote the positive use of public space. Since joining the agency in 2023, his role is rooted in community engagement and relationship building, as well as program development and implementation.

Sal received his bachelor’s degree in visual and media arts from Emerson College. Prior to joining NYC DOT, he was the director of technical operations at Media 3 Ltd, a live broadcast facility in midtown Manhattan, and served as president of the Kensington Dog Run Association, a local advocacy group that successfully advocated for a dog park in Brooklyn.

Banner Image: Pedestrians walk along the Franklin Avenue Open Street in Brooklyn. Image Credit – Street Lab