Only 1 Of Forest Hills' Open Streets Is Operational, Study Finds

FOREST HILLS, 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 (In Manhattan, at least, it is possible that the survey relied on outdated information, Patch found.)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 Forest Hills, and the nearby neighborhood of Rego Park, volunteers found only one active Open Street, even though the area was slated to have five, according to the study.

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.

In Forest Hills, however, demographics alone suggest that there would be more Open Streets in the area, 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 the program, but 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 Forest Hills, neighbors have not always been on board with the program, either.

When the City Council voted to make the program permanent, for instance, community members took to Facebook, lambasting the decision. "I call it Closed Streets," wrote one, adding "the war on cars continues." Another commented in agreement: "They really hate cars."

And, this isn't the first time that car-related complaints took center stage among area locals — many of whom drive cars in the suburban-like neighborhood of Queens.

In fact, parking spaces have played a central role in two major area infrastructure projects: The Queens Boulevard bike lane, and the Kew Gardens Jail.

The final phase of construction on the Queens Boulevard redesign project — which is now slated for completion next month — was long-delayed, in part because of local pushback about parking spaces.

Also, the long-disputed Kew Gardens Jail was eventually approved by Forest Hills' City Council Member, Karen Koslowitz, with a list of conditions — one of which was the addition of 150 extra parking spots.

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.

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: