NYC Trick Or Treating: Check Out Car-Free Streets In The 5 Boroughs

NEW YORK CITY — Trick-or-treaters in New York City will be able to enjoy 77 car-free locations for Halloween.

The third annual Trick or Streets initiative began this past Saturday across the five boroughs, making trick-or-treating and Halloween activities safer for families.

The Department of Transportation has touted a record number of 147 car-free Trick or Streets locations this year during the six-day initiative.

For Halloween day, eight car-free events will take place in the Bronx, 31 in Brooklyn, 24 in Manhattan, 13 in Queens and one on Staten Island.

The DOT also announced that a number of “signature events” will be held during the six-day period, featuring Halloween-themed performances and live music.

While a majority of the signature events have already taken place, the Bronx will host an Oct. 31 event on Decatur Avenue from 2:30 to 9:30 p.m. In Manhattan, there will be a signature event at Pell Street, Doyers Street and Bowery to Mott Street from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Sara Lind, co-executive director at Open Plans, a nonprofit organization that advocates for more car-free streets, said Halloween is one of the most dangerous holidays for kids across the country and the initiative helps keeps them safe.

"I'm really glad the city and the DOT are doing this, I think this is a demonstration of what we get when we open the streets to people," she said.

While not an entirely new concept, as block association and city residents have been running similar events for the years — including in Lind's neighborhood in the Upper East Side — The DOT can now share and provide resources to other communities as well.

"We would really like to see this approach from the city on other days as well, not just on Halloween,"Lind said.

You can see a full list of Trick-or-Street locations here.