John McCarten/NYC Council
NYC Councilmembers watch as Mayor Bill de Blasio signs a bill making the city’s Open Streets program permanent, May 2021.
‘The limited Open Streets we have are not distributed equitably. There are no active Open Streets in any of the six community boards that have the fewest residents living near parks. Of all the active Open Street miles in operation today, only 2.2 percent are in the Bronx.’
‘We must protect and support these organizations so the critical staff and programs which our residents rely on can stay in place through the crisis and emerge from the crisis when the need for human services, educational, and cultural programming will surely escalate.’