Imagine NYC’s streets filled with cyclists, pedestrians, and New Yorkers sailing through the city’s grid system on rollerskates – the Department of Transportation’s annual Summer Streets event makes that utopian scene a reality, and it’s returning in August.
Embracing car-free culture and offering a glimpse of what Manhattan streets could look like with no cars in sight, the DOT’s Summer Streets will take place on August 6th, 13th and 20th this year, and will be longest stretch of open streets to date, with 8 miles of open road. The event will take over Park Avenue, Fourth Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Centre Street in Manhattan, between the Brooklyn Bridge and East Harlem, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In addition to the novelty of being able to navigate your way through the borough without vehicles in your way, there will also be art installations en route, as well as performances and activities at “rest stops.” A full list of these rest stop attractions can be found here, and include fitness classes, dance parties, gardening, and much more. (Scroll down for a full list of rest stop activities.)
Bonus: If you don’t have a bike, Citi Bike will be offering free day passes on August 6th (you just need to use the code SUMMER22 in their app for unlimited 30-minute rides that day). And Unlimited Biking will also hook you up with a free ride, you’ll just need to make a reservation here.
Here is the planned programming you'll see as you make your way along Summer Streets this year:
Foley Square Rest Stop, Centre Street and Duane Street
Adaptive Basketball Games with the Wheelchair Sports Federation
Dance Party NYC
Free Bike Rentals by Unlimited Biking
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Water on the Go
Summer Streets Art Stop
Summer Streets Beach Chairs and Cooling Zone
Astor Place Rest Stop, Lafayette Street and Astor Place
DEP Water on the Go
Fitness Class Stage: Free Classes by Just Like Om, Lifetime, Energi, Athleta, and WRKNYC
The Movement Creative: Pop-Up Parkour Playground
Taste of Summer: Snack and Beverage Sampling Zone
Transportation Alternatives Bike Valet
Rose Hill Rest Stop, East 26th and 27th Streets and Park Avenue
Bike Repair with the Five Borough Bicycle Club
Dance Party NYC
DEP Water on the Go
DOT Bike Helmet Fitting
DOT Truck's Eye View
Explore NYC Rainwater with Naik Group
Free Bike Rentals by Unlimited Biking
Learn to Ride with Bike New York
Summer Streets Accessibility Station
Summer Streets Art Stop
Transportation Alternatives Bike Valet
Midtown Rest Stop, East 51st Street and Park Avenue
Art and Culture Hub
August 6: Native Planting with Glam Gardener NYC, Marching Band Hat Making with HONK NYC, Watercolor for Beginners with Art Students League of New York, Coloring and Temporary Tattoos with the Asia Society
August 13: Native Planting with Glam Gardener NYC, Marching Band Hat Making with HONK NYC, Watercolor for Beginners with Art Students League of New York, Tangram Challenge with Museum of Chinese in America, Make Your Own Ojo de Dios with Urban Studio Unbound, Recycled Art Making with Materials for the Arts
August 20: Native Planting with Glam Gardener NYC, Marching Band Hat Making with HONK NYC, Watercolor for Beginners with Art Students League of New York, Tangram Challenge with Museum of Chinese in America, Make Your Own Ojo de Dios with Urban Studio Unbound, Recycled Art Making with Green Inspired Art
DEP Water on the Go
Midtown Performance Stage
August 6: NYC Violinist, Dahka Band, Music With A Message, Sirens of Gotham, Project Connect
August 13: Evan V and the Jumping Jams Band, Lilee, the Blue Dahlia, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company
August 20: eGALitarian Brass, Metropolitan Horn Authority, The Afro-Latineers, Niall O'Leary School of Irish Dance, HONK NYC presents HONK Family Band
Summer Streets Art Stop
Transportation Alternatives Bike Valet
Zing! Kids Fitness
Upper East Rest Stop, East 81st Street and Park Avenue
Black Girls Do Bike: Riding Tips, Bike Repair, and Bike Tours
Fit Club NY: Physical Therapy and Recovery Services
Fitness Class Stage: Free Classes by Orange Theory Fitness, Fit Club NY, Pure Barre, The Code, 305 Fitness, Chase Fitness, Dance Body
Free Bike Rentals by Unlimited Biking
Uptown Rest Stop, East 109th Street and Park Avenue
Art and Culture Hub: Event Trivia and Coloring with Ebony Bolt, Art Lives Here, the Naji Play Machine with Naji, Studio Museum in Harlem, Harlem Needle Arts
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus (August 20)
Go! Sports USA: Free Rollerblade Rentals and Instruction
NYC Parks Play Mobile (August 20)
Summer Streets Art Stop
Uptown Pop-Up Performances
August 6: HONK NYC presents Off the Bar Brass Band, Marching Cobras, Batingua Arts, Fogo Azul
August 13: HONK NYC presents New Heights Brass Band, HONK NYC presents L-Train Brass Band, HONK NYC presents Tilted Axis Music for Mobile Electric Guitars, Fogo Azul
Subway
