Mayor visits Jackson Heights open street
/
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, Mayor Eric Adams and Councilmember Shekar Krishnan stopped by the 34th Ave. Open Street over the weekend.Photo via DOT/Twitter
By Rachel Vick
With spring weather approaching and the 2022 application period for the Open Streets program winding down, Mayor Eric Adams joined Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez and Councilmember Shekar Krishnan Sunday for a visit to 34th Avenue.
The city officials visited the open street from 69th Street to Junction Boulevard and joined an all-ages exercise class, to highlight the value of open space for the community.
“Our [34th Avenue Open Street] is a historic opportunity for a transformative vision,” Krishann wrote on Twitter. “My community is the most diverse, yet it has some of the least amount of green space in all of NYC. We deserve so much more.”
Jackson Heights is ranked second to last in the amount of green space per person in the city, according to the councilmember.
Though the open street has been at the center of a brewing conflict between residents who say the blocked off avenue creates traffic hazards and complications for elderly and disabled residents and residents who see it as a place to hold programming and promote safe, alternative travel, the Adams administration signaled its support for the program Sunday.
Krishnan and other Queens electeds — including Queens Borough President Donovan Richards — have voiced support for expanding on the success of the open street by transforming the street into a permanent, linear park.
The support is welcomed by a handful of community members who fought for the creation of the pedestrian space which has since blossomed into a hub for gathering, play and car-free transportation.
“DOT has called 34 Ave. the gold standard of Open Streets and Ydanis was also here last week… so I know the administration really supports it,” Jim Burke, the co-Founder of the 34 Ave Open Streets Coalition told the Eagle. “The future looks very bright as we have widespread community support, support among our local elected officials and now the mayor and DOT commissioner are spending time here engaging with the community. I think they are going to take 34 Ave. to the next level.”
Opponents say the open street increases traffic on surrounding roads and creates hazardous conditions for residents with mobility issues. They also say their voices have been left out of the decision making process. Piper Josephine, the leader of 34OS Resisters United, said the push for the program is “almost like psychological warfare… trying to make us use public transportation.”
The DOT, which administers the Open Streets program, celebrated the success of 34th Avenue both as a standalone and as a model for the program overall.
“The 34th Avenue Open Street is a true gem in this great program, which has helped us reimagine miles of our streets as lively spaces to meet with friends, family, and neighbors,” said DOT Spokesperson Vin Barone. “With new public funding, we’re excited to bring this program to more neighborhoods and will have more to share on 2022 Open Streets soon.”
Barone said the agency has received a strong response from New Yorkers from across the city looking to bring the program to their neighborhoods, with the expansion to be supported with the help of public funding.
The mayor’s office did not respond to request for comment.
Applications for the next iteration of the Open Streets program are open until April 29 and available online at nyc.gov/dot.
