New Open Street Coming To Columbus On The UWS: What To Know

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A new Open Street is coming to the Upper West Side starting this Sunday. Beginning on Aug. 29, an Open Street will stretch from Columbus and 68th to 77th Streets every Sunday until Nov. 14.

The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), in partnership with the NYC'S Department of Transportation, will oversee the management of the new nine-block UWS Open Street.

“We are thrilled to bring Open Streets to our neighborhood. By opening a portion of the avenue
to Open Streets, our restaurants and retail businesses will have an opportunity to draw more
visitors and area residents out to support their ongoing recovery,” said Nicole Paynter, Executive
Director of the Columbus Avenue BID, in a news release.

The Columbus Open Street will take place every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Traffic and parking will be redirected during the period with signage posted throughout the area, allowing pedestrians and bikers to travel through the area and enjoy local restaurants deploying extended outdoor seating.

For the first couple weeks of the new Open Street, the Columbus BID says it will focus on getting the local community accustomed to the streets being pedestrian zones. Team members wearing high visibility vests will monitor the streets, making sure barricades are in place and visitors are safe.

“I am fortunate to have regulars that come in a few times a week, and would say we are
half-way back to normal," said Manny Colon, owner of Manny’s Bistro at 225 Columbus Avenue, in a news release. But until we start to get more visitors, and more people back into the city, we are still just surviving. I think Open Streets will bring people to the Upper West Side, which will not only give me more area to serve guests, but will also give us more exposure as well, especially on Sundays during brunch."

You can find out more about the new Open Street on the Columbus Avenue BID's website.