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The full details for a proposed new pedestrian corridor along Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan designed by Field Operations have been released by the city in anticipation of the first redesign of the famous thoroughfare in its 200-year history. The plan covers a swath from Central Park South to... View full entry
Field Operations has announced its participation as the design lead for a new public space and pedestrianization project that will affect a large swath of Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The new “Future of Fifth” project, announced by New York Mayor Eric Adams this week, will... View full entry
Outdoor dining along New York City streets, one of the rare pandemic-era accommodations that proved popular, is set to become permanent — but in a way that could drive many restaurant owners to take down their streetside sheds for good. — The New York Times
A New York City Council bill introduced in February that will make outdoor dining structures in roadways permanent through a licensing system was passed last week. The move aims to preserve the popular program while being able to exert more control over it. One stipulation is that roadway... View full entry
In the interest of providing official guardianship for its vast inventory of public spaces, New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday (Feb. 16) announced former transit advocate Ya-Ting Liu will be the city's first-ever public realms officer. According to the New York Times, her role was created... View full entry
The city’s Department of Transportation is considering making Grand Army Plaza car-free and connecting it to the Open Streets on Vanderbilt and Underhill Avenues, officials said this week. — Gothamist
The NYC Department of Transportation is currently seeking the public’s feedback regarding improvements to an area that’s been defined by constant traffic, disrepair, and hazardous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. The agency hopes it can access the $904 million that Mayor Eric Adams... View full entry
Big changes to the Big Apple’s alfresco restaurant scene are on the table — including a plan to get rid of its popular, but controversial, outdoor dining sheds.
The head of the city Department of Transportation’s Open Restaurants Program told a City Council committee on Tuesday that the makeshift structures won’t be allowed to remain standing after the COVID-19 pandemic eases.
— New York Post
The makeshift structures will be allowed to remain in place until July, according to Department of Transportation’s Open Restaurants Program director Julie Schipper, who said a more thorough application process would be enacted that would do away with “these full houses … in the... View full entry
Despite some ongoing litigation, New York City took a major step this week toward making outdoor dining a permanent part of the city's infrastructure. On Monday, the City Planning Commission voted unanimously for a zoning text amendment that will create a clean slate for the city to develop and regulate a permanent program, and will ultimately allow more restaurants to set up outdoor dining structures across the city. — Gothamist
The amendment removes geographic restrictions on where outdoor dining spaces can be located in New York, making the application process for sidewalk and roadway eateries much simpler. The City Council and mayor will now have to approve the text amendment. Confidence that it will go through... View full entry
COVID-19 also showed us the divide that we have in the city. There are BIPOC communities and communities with lower incomes that have very poor-quality public realms that we need to focus on more closely. People who live in the South Bronx need to have the same kind of opportunities to be outdoors and in quality settings in ways that they didn't before. — The Planning Report
Anita Laremont, the newly appointed Director of the NYC Department of City Planning and Chair of the City Planning Commission, when asked about her priorities in light of Mayor Bill de Blasio's term coming to an end soon: "We believe our priorities will continue to be the new mayor's priorities in... View full entry
A new report released by New York City-based, non-profit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives reveals the deficiencies of Mayor Bill de Blasio's Open Streets program, an initiative formed in the wake of the pandemic to create safe, socially distanced outdoor space for New Yorkers. Less than... View full entry
According to New York Times restaurant critic, Pete Wells, who “loves outdoor dining,” the Big Apple is in the process of another makeover with a “third wave” of Open Restaurants being added to the city’s already bustling streets. Nevertheless, as more parking spaces are given over... View full entry
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced the “Open Boulevards” program, a new initiative to enhance and expand ten multi-block corridors to create more open space throughout the city. The plan builds off of last year’s “Open Streets: Restaurants” program, which transformed miles... View full entry
