Two weeks ago, the New York City Council approved a bill making its Open Streets program permanent. The program closes certain streets to car traffic and was initiated during the pandemic to give pedestrians and cyclists more space to social distance. (Open Streets is separate from the Open Restaurants program, which allows restaurants to put outdoor seating on city property).

The new Open Streets bill was sponsored by city councilwoman Carlina Rivera and includes a requirement that the Department of Transportation annually study streets in the program to determine if further changes should be implemented, such as converting to a shared street or a pedestrian plaza. This means New York City has a new mechanism to permanently close streets to car traffic—and partial control of this mechanism rests with community groups.

“This program, in and of itself, will ultimately lead to the banning of cars on the streets,” said Rivera, who represents District Two in Manhattan, when we spoke by phone last week.