Not All Of Bayside's Open Streets Are Operational, Study Finds

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — Less than half of the city's "Open Streets" are operating as the car-free community gathering spaces that the city touted them to be, a recent study found.

All told, there are 57 Queens Open Streets listed on the city's official database. Volunteers from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives accounted for 41 of those when they stopped by the borough's Open Streets over the summer to conduct the survey. (In Manhattan, at least, it is possible that the survey relied on outdated information, Patch found.)

Of the Open Streets surveyed, only 13 were active, meaning at least one volunteer saw barriers up during the streets operating hours.

In Bayside, volunteers visited one active Open Street on 41st Avenue. There's also another active Open Street on Bell Boulevard, but volunteers were not able to visit because, based on outdated DOT data, they stopped by on a Sunday, not a Saturday; the latter is the only day that it is open.

There is, however, another Open Street in the area, that is not operational, according to the survey.

Transportation Alternatives attributed many of the Open Street closures to race and class disparities: Most of the active Open Streets were in predominantly white, higher-income neighborhoods, the study found; a trend that holds true in parts of Queens.

Demographics alone suggest that there would be more Open Streets in Bayside, however, meaning that the program's lack of area implementation might be due to something else that the study hinted at: community pushback.

Responses to Open Streets: pushback and support

The Open Streets program has faced pushback during its expansion — especially from car owners.

Whereas 63 percent of New York voters expressed support for the program in a January survey, car owners were split. Just over half, 57 percent, backed closing the streets, whereas the other half weren't on board.

This sentiment has played out in some Brooklyn neighborhoods, where program volunteers faced harassment from drivers, some of whom stole barricades.

In Bayside, neighbors have not always been on board with the program, either, with some lambasting it online as a waste of parking space. Others, by contrast, have spoken out in favor of Open Streets as a way to support local businesses.

And, this isn't the first time that car-related complaints took center stage among locals in Bayside — a suburban-like corner of Queens where many people depend on cars, especially since the area is not connected to the city's subway system.

In June, Bayside's community board voted against a school proposal partially on the basis that it would limit neighborhood parking spots, and many locals are known to detest the city's ever-expanding speed camera program.

Also, during the pandemic, drag racing complaints have increased in Bayside — making it the neighborhood in the borough that saw the most racing complaints earlier this year.

Still, the Transportation Alternatives survey concluded that citywide most people support closing some streets to cars. (The group itself is in strong support of Open Streets; having named its survey "Open Streets Forever: The Case For Permanent 24/7 Open Streets.")

"This report makes one thing clear: New Yorkers love Open Streets, and they want to see them succeed," said Danny Harris, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, in a statement, citing the January survey where a majority of New Yorkers said they supported the program.

"However, Mayor de Blasio has broken his promise to expand the program equitably. All communities deserve Open Streets and the health, climate, and safety benefits they provide," he said.

Correction: A previous article incorrectly stated that only one Open Street in Bayside is operational. While the Transportation Alternative's study found that the Open Street on Bell Boulevard between 38th and 41st avenues was not operational, it is, just only on Saturdays (survey volunteers visited on a Sunday, based on inaccurate information on the DOT website, which states that the Open Street is open on Sundays). That Open Street will remain closed to cars from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays through Oct. 22.

Here's a map of the Open Streets in Queens, according to the survey. Active streets are in yellow, non-operational streets are in blue: