NY1: Advocates say year-round roadway dining will help restaurants and NYC’s economy
New York City has approved year-round roadway dining alongside sidewalk cafes, creating more space for restaurants to serve customers outdoors and boosting the local economy. This change will encourage more vibrant, people-friendly streets in every season.
Gothamist: City Council looks to revive New York City outdoor dining
Outdoor dining is coming back stronger and more equitable, and we’ve been pushing to make it happen. Open Plans helped show how heavy fees, strict design rules, and seasonal limits shut out thousands of neighborhood restaurants, especially beyond Manhattan and brownstone Brooklyn. The City Council’s new bills move us closer to a year-round curbside dining program that works for small businesses and reclaims street space for people.
6sqft: Year-round outdoor dining is coming back to NYC
We’re proud that our advocacy helped bring year-round outdoor dining back to New York City. By pushing to cut red tape, winterize curbside setups, and reduce fees, we worked alongside small businesses so thousands more restaurants can share street space with people instead of parked cars—creating cleaner, more vibrant, and more welcoming neighborhoods in every season.
Advocates say year-round roadway dining will help restaurants and NYC’s economy
Robotaxi companies are pushing to bring autonomous vehicles to New York City's streets. In this report, we compare California's Waymo data to the city's existing for-hire fleet and find serious risks to safety, vehicle miles traveled, and parking.
Keep Summer Streets Growing
Tell Mayor Mamdani and NYCDOT to go further — longer hours, more weekends, and connected routes across all five boroughs
Support Year-Round Outdoor Dining!
The City Council has severely restricted outdoor dining, and we need your voice to reverse this decision. Let NYC Council know you support Int. 655 to make outdoor dining accessible every month of the year.
Listen to Mayor Mamdani: Fund School Streets for All!
Call on City Council and Admin to fully fund safe streets in front of our schools.
Let’s Curb the Chaos with Automated Enforcement
Send a letter to your City and State elected officials to support S8665/A5440 and Res. 141.
We must slow down on robotaxis in NYC
Before we let thousands of driverless cars loose on our streets, we've got real questions: Where do they park when empty? Will they clog our curbs? What happens to transit and to the drivers who rely on for-hire work? We've seen this movie before with Uber and Lyft — let's not skip the homework this time.
School’s Out in the Streets: A Path Towards School Streets for All in New York City
School Streets are an opportunity to activate our streets for joy while making them safer. In this report, we lay out ways the City can make the program more effective and ambitious.
Looking ahead to January and the incoming Mamdani administration
Our comprehensive plan for Mayor-elect Mamdani's administration to create safer, greener, more vibrant streets in every neighborhood—from Low Traffic Neighborhoods to School Streets and beyond.
Hit the Brakes: Understanding and Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled in NYC
This report urges NYC to set a citywide goal to reduce driving, invest in tools for measuring VMT, reconsider policies that increase driving, and adopt proven strategies that reduce optional driving.
Presentation: Exploring a Neighborhood Approach to Reduce Traffic
Here’s our presentation exploring a neighborhood-based approach to reducing vehicular traffic in NYC, making streets safer and more people-focused. It highlights how non-local cut-through driving increases danger for pedestrians and worsens noise and air pollution, drawing lessons from cities like London and Barcelona.
Managing the Chaos: A Progress Report on New York City's Curb Management
Two years after NYC DOT's Curb Management Action Plan, we evaluated the they progress made and outline the work still needed to make our curbs work for all New Yorkers.
Clarkson School Street Project
We’re teaming up with the Clarkson Street school community, Project for Public Spaces and NYCDOT to turn their street into a vibrant, safe space for connection and play.
Curbside Restaurant Week
Experience exclusive deals and special treats at NYC’s first-ever curbside dining celebration. Support your favorite local restaurants and show the city you love outdoor dining!
Bring Low Traffic Neighborhoods to New York City
Our residential streets should prioritize residents.
Suggest a Low Traffic Neighborhood in NYC
You heard it from us—Low Traffic Neighborhoods can make your local streets quieter, calmer, and safer. Now we want to hear from you! Do you have a neighborhood in mind that might be a good fit for an LTN? We would love to know.
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.