City Adds Open Streets In Forest Hills, Rego Park

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — New York City is opening 13 more miles of streets to pedestrians and cyclists starting Saturday, including a mile's worth of roadways in Forest Hills and Rego Park.

The new locations include 66th Road between 110th Street and Grand Central Parkway, 99th Street between the Horace Harding Expressway and 66th Avenue, Ascan Avenue between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street, 68th Road between 108th Street and Yellowstone Boulevard, and Dieterle Crescent between Alderton Street and 65th Drive.

Portions of three streets within Forest Park were already closed to traffic as part of City Hall's initiative, which is meant to help New Yorkers follow social-distancing rules while they're outdoors.

Queens Community Board 6, which covers Forest Hills and Rego Park, passed a resolution last week asking the mayor's office and the city's transportation department to expand the program to its district.

In response to the community board's resolution, City Hall spokesperson Mitch Schwartz noted that anyone can propose specific streets to open using this online form.

The mayor's office claimed in a news release Friday that the additional streets bring the city past its goal of opening 40 miles of streets by the end of May, but the city's tally includes nine miles of temporary protected bike lanes announced last week.

Not including those streets, the newly-announced locations bring the citywide total to only 34 miles.