Harlem's Open Streets Are Faltering, Study Finds

HARLEM, NY — The city's celebrated "Open Streets" program is suffering from neglect by the city, according to a new report, which found that dozens of the pedestrianized streets are no longer operational — including most Open Streets in Harlem.

The study, released Tuesday by Transportation Alternatives, paints a grim picture, saying the initiative has failed to meet Mayor Bill de Blasio's goal of 100 miles of car-free streets.

Just 24 miles of Open Streets are currently operational, the study found. Only one in five New Yorkers live within walking distance of an active Open Street, with most of those in predominantly white, higher-income neighborhoods.

"Only 46% of listed Open Streets are actually active," the study states.

In Harlem, there are 14 Open Streets listed on the city's official database. Of those, nine were non-operational when volunteers from Transportation Alternatives stopped by over the summer to conduct the survey.

The surveyors also rated each Open Street between 1 and 10, based on how "inviting" the street felt and how many cars were driving through it. Just one Harlem street — 120th Street between Lenox Avenue and Mount Morris Park West — got the maximum score of 10.0, while six streets got the minimum 1.0 rating.

"Not all gonna make it to the finish line"

The survey appears to have relied in part on outdated information from the city. Carey King, director of the East Harlem nonprofit Uptown Grand Central, noted that the Pleasant Avenue Open Street that her organization manages was not running over the summer, when volunteers gave it a 1.0 rating and deemed it "non-operational." (It has since started back up for the fall.)

Still, the study's conclusions rang true for King, who has struggled for months to obtain a modest amount of city funding to cover her Open Streets' programming.

"The organizations just don’t have capacity unless they have city support," King told Patch. "Especially in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, because we don’t have the same resources."

Another obstacle, King said, has been clearing parked cars to make way for the programming. The local NYPD precincts in East Harlem say they are unable to tow vehicles, creating headaches on the Open Streets — like a recent weekend when King planned to host a traveling circus on East 101st Street.

"There was a white sedan right in the middle of the circus," King said. "We had to move these flatbeds in, and they wouldn't fit."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by FDB Alliance (@fdballiance)

In May, de Blasio signed a bill making Open Streets permanent, though it remains unclear exactly what form they will take.

In the report, titled "Open Streets Forever," Transportation Alternatives makes a slew of recommendations for improving the program, including installing permanent barricades, lengthening Open Streets to a half-mile minimum, and increasing funding.

King, meanwhile, said that de Blasio's initial 100-mile goal no longer seems to be a focus as Open Streets become permanent. Instead, the city seems to be allowing some streets to die off while a select few survive.

"We’re not all going to make it to the finish line, is the vibe I’m getting," she said. "Some of us are just gonna go away."

Patch writer Matt Troutman contributed reporting.

Have a Harlem news tip? Email reporter Nick Garber at [email protected].

Related coverage:

• Half Of NYC 'Open Streets' Abandoned By City: Study
• Popular Harlem Open Street Could Be A Model For NYC, BP Says