City launches 71 open streets at schools to improve safety, accommodate smoother pick-ups and drop-offs, and create additional outdoor space for children to play, learn, and socialize
NEW YORK – New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez today announced 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. 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 NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “This record achievement is thanks to our concerted effort to deliver new funding to the Open Streets program as well as our new partnerships with organizations like Street Lab, which help connect communities to this great concept and provide delightful programming for kids.”
As part of the program, the Full Closure: Schools type of Open Street allows participating schools to temporarily close streets to vehicles for drop-off and pick-up operations, recess, and outdoor learning. Once called 'Playstreets,' New York City has a roughly 100-year-history of closing streets for children to play and to support educational opportunities. Open Streets for Schools follows in this tradition and, for the first time, established a legal structure to create streets for play and to support schools through the Open Streets program, which was codified into law in the spring of 2024.
PARTNERSHIPS
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.
EQUITY INVESTMENTS
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.
PERMANENT OPEN STREET REDESIGNS
NYC DOT remains committed to delivering permanent redesigns to existing Open Streets. In 2024, redesigns will be or have already been implemented on the following Open Streets:
2024 OPEN STREETS: SCHOOLS LOCATIONS
“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. We’ve had a flood of requests from more schools that want to start an Open Street, and we’re aiming to work with as many as we can. Our approach prioritizes under-resourced neighborhoods and provides deep support so that these Open Streets can thrive and be embraced by the whole neighborhood. Street Lab also involves kids themselves in envisioning and leading these Open Streets, and it is inspiring to see their eagerness to improve their streets, their neighborhoods and the city itself. That may be the most exciting thing that’s happening here.”
