20 miles of Summer Streets are coming to NYC this season: what to know

The biggest version of Summer Streets is taking place this year across all five boroughs -- this after more than 500,000 people took part last year.

"It's a bold new vision for public space across the city," Mayor Eric Adams said regarding the 20 miles of streets that will form part of the latest iteration of the summer program, which will mark the largest version of the program since it launched in 2008 that closes down streets to provide extra public space for people to play, walk, and bike.

The expansion of summer streets comes less than a week after the city’s worst air quality day in decades.

When that hazy air descended on the city, some argued that City Hall didn’t respond aggressively enough to the emergency. NY Times columnist Mara Gay under the headline On The Smoke Crisis, NYC’s Mayor Chokes —- wrote of Adams: “He could have also used the emergency to limit private car traffic across the five boroughs in a bid to improve air quality.“

However, the mayor is pushing back on the idea a driving restriction could have helped, saying would have had "very little impact" on the science.

Now that the air has cleared, advocates of Summer Streets see progress. More days — and more roads — where New Yorkers get out of their cars. 

“We want people to choose walking biking and public transportation all the time," Jackson Chabot, of Open Plans NY, said.

The Summer Streets program — which runs from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Saturdays in question — costs $1.5 million to set up and enforce. And although this year's expansion makes the program the biggest version yet, advocates hope it gets even bigger next summer.

The Summer Streets for this season are:

Summer Streets: Queens on July 29

• Vernon Boulevard between 44 Drive and 30 Drive

Summer Streets: Staten Island on July 29

• Richmond Terrace between York Avenue and Bard Avenue

Summer Streets: Manhattan on Aug. 5, 12 & 19

From Brooklyn Bridge to West 125 Street via:

• Lafayette Street and Park Avenue between Brooklyn Bridge and East 109 Street
• East 109 Street between Park Avenue and 5th Avenue
• 5th Avenue between East 109 Street and Central Park North
• Central Park North between 5th Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard
• Adam Clayton Powell Jr Boulevard between Central Park North and West 125 Street

Summer Streets: Brooklyn on Aug. 26

• Eastern Parkway between Grand Army Plaza and Buffalo Avenue

Summer Streets: The Bronx on Aug. 26

• Grand Concourse between East Tremont Avenue and Mosholu Parkway

For more information on Summer Streets, click here.