Summer Streets Returns To The Upper East Side: What To Know

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Summer Streets is back, bringing eight miles of pedestrian paradise to the island of Manhattan.

Much of the annual popular event run by the city's Department of Transportation will take place on Park Avenue, 95 blocks of which will be car-free from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. on three upcoming Saturdays, Aug. 5, 12, and 19.

For Upper East Siders, that means the whole stretch of avenue in the neighborhood will be open for walking, biking, free fitness classes, performances and family-friendly activities.

Unfortunately, the DOT has eliminated the Upper East Side rest stop, which was at East 81st Street last year and provided free physical therapy, meditation, fitness classes and bike trips and repairs hosted by Black Girls Do Bike.

The next closest rest stops this year are at East 51st and East 109th streets

This year, the DOT has extended the Manhattan route to extend further into East Harlem, running along Central Park North and up Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard to West 125th Street.

And for the first time since its launch in 2008, Summer Streets was expanded to include all five boroughs, with Queens and Staten Island holding their Summer Streets events last weekend.

“The great programming and events enjoyed for years along Park Avenue will now be available along Grand Concourse, Vernon Boulevard, Eastern Parkway, and Richmond Terrace, making Summer Streets a true citywide experience," DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said last week.

Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn and Grand Concourse in The Bronx will have their own Summer Streets events on Aug. 26.

Over 500,000 New Yorkers enjoyed the car-free Summer Streets last year, according to the city.

For more details, click here.