Digging In to Dining Out: Ways to Fix New York City's Outdoor Dining Program
A combination of opaque bureaucracy, misguided city regulations, car-centered decisions in the City Council, and a small but vocal opposition are killing a program that once revitalized our streets.
Open Plans stages guerilla curbside cafe to call for year-round option
“Permanent curbside dining was meant to help inspire a visionary reimagining of our streets to serve everyone, but this bill has virtually destroyed that vision,” said Sara Lind, Co-Executive Director at Open Plans.
Bring Back Year-round Outdoor Dining in NYC
The City Council has severely restricted outdoor dining, and we need your voice to reverse this decision.
Cut-through driving: the bad habit clogging up your residential street
Think the traffic outside your window is from your neighborhoods? Actually, up to 90% of drivers in NYC neighborhoods are just using local streets as a shortcut. 'Cut-through driving' is turning residential blocks into miniature unofficial thruways and creating chaos, pollution, and unsafe streets for residents.
Better intersections through daylighting
A simple change removing parking at corners dramatically improves visibility and saves lives at intersections
Alliance for Public Space Leadership
Open Plans leads a network of diverse organizations and experts, from street vendors to park and disability advocates, focused on creating equitable, accessible public spaces citywide. Our alliance amplifies community needs and collaborates with decision makers on sustainable solutions for the future.
Managing Public Space for Equity, Safety & Joy
We're reimagining the future of New York City's public realm with a framework where well-managed public spaces are the norm, not the exception.
Let’s Reimagine West 72nd Street as a Street for People
Tell elected officials and the Department of Transportation that you support a bold redesign of West 72nd Street as a “complete street” connecting Central Park and Riverside Park.
Support Universal Daylighting in New York City
Make your voice heard and let the City know that daylighting intersections across New York City make our streets safer.
Thank NYC for Expanding Summer Streets
Advocate for extended hours and even more weekends of Summer Streets fun.
Attend our free webinars
In our two-session series #FYI: Community Boards, you’ll learn how and why to apply to your Community Board and how to make an impact once you’ve joined.
Model Community Board Resolutions
Community board members can use these model resolutions to propose new projects in their districts related to street safety, public space, and livability.
Solutions for Cities at the Curb
Dig into this nationwide look at emergent curb management and how NYC can build upon existing innovations to make our valuable curbs part of a strategic, efficient street plan.
Streets built for children to play, learn, & thrive
Every New York City school is eligible for safe, car-free space near their building! Our School Streets Toolkit helps them get it.
Check our digital curb sample
We partnered with BetaNYC to create a digital curb sample, designed using insights from other cities and stakeholders. It is made to show our vision of a publicly accessible, standardized digital curb; the two streetscapes — one residential, one commercial — display a diverse set of curb uses.
Lifting Parking Mandates in New York City
To address our housing crisis, improve livability, spur economic development, and reduce the impact of climate change, it is vital that the City lift parking mandates citywide.
2024 Legislative Agenda
Open Plans has set ambitious goals for change within City Council, Borough Presidents’ offices, City agencies, and New York State. These policy goals focus on four key policy areas that make a city livable. Each piece works together and is essential to the success of the others.