Bed-Stuy Finally Gets City's 'Open Streets'

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — Every time city officials announced new "Open Streets" for social distancing, Bed-Stuy got left out.

That changed Friday when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced 13 more miles of city streets would open for foot and bicycle traffic-only in time for Memorial Day — including a combined 0.58 miles of roadway in Bed-Stuy.

The longest stretch runs 0.4 miles along tree-lined Macon Street from Tompkins Avenue to Arlington Place, according to the city.

“With the great partners we have in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, we can provide more open space to community residents and safely adhere to necessary social distancing practices," said city Councilman Robert Cornegy, Jr., who represents Bed-Stuy and parts of Crown Heights, in a statement. "I welcome Open Streets, and I welcome a process that is inclusive and reaches out for community input."

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Bed-Stuy and Central Brooklyn in general largely got left out of earlier Open Streets announcements, and it didn't go unnoticed by residents.

They took to online neighborhood groups to ask why their neighborhood didn't get the same extra space to socially distance from the coronavirus as places like Park Slope did.

The city came through for Bed-Stuy, and other space-starved neighborhoods, on Friday.

The Bed-Stuy streets are:

- Macon Street, from Tompkins Avenue to Arlington Place - 0.4 miles

- Arlington Place from Macon to Fulton Street - 0.07 miles on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in partnership with Bedford Stuyvesant Gateway BID

- Somers Street from Rockaway Avenue to Fulton Street - 0.11 miles

The closures — or openings, depending on your perspective — begin Saturday.

The mayor's office claimed in a news release Friday that the additional streets bring the city past its goal of opening 40 miles of streets by the end of May, but the city's tally includes nine miles of temporary protected bike lanes announced last week.

Not including those streets, the newly-announced locations bring the citywide total to only 34 miles.

Open Streets across New York City can be seen on Google Maps or this city list.

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