New 'Open Street' Coming To Tompkins Avenue In Bed-Stuy

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Another street in Bed-Stuy will close down to traffic on the weekends to let neighbors dine, shop and walk outdoors.

A stretch of Tompkins Avenue — from Gates Avenue to Halsey Street — will join the city's Open Streets program starting on Sunday, May 9, according to the Bridge Street Development Corporation.

The new Open Street, run by the Tompkins Avenue Merchants Association, will close down traffic from 12 to 7 p.m. each Sunday.

"Come out and enjoy free community activities, shop and dine in your favorite establishment," the organization wrote. "See you there."

The Open Streets program was started by the city at the height of the coronavirus crisis as a way to give more New Yorkers room to get outside while still social distancing. It has become a lifeline for many businesses, particularly restaurants, throughout the pandemic.

In Bed-Stuy, the new Open Street comes as the neighborhood explores ways to help its businesses recover from the financial strain of the crisis.

A recent study, led by Bridge Street, found that the neighborhood's six commercial corridors had an average vacancy rate of 33 percent, though that number was less on streets with a Business Improvement District or merchants association.

Tompkins Avenue, where 24 percent of storefronts are vacant, had the lowest rate out of the six.

The Tompkins Avenue Open Street will be just a block away from another Open Street on Macon Street, which stretches from Arlington Place to Tompkins. A stretch of Somers Street and Arlington Place are also part of the program.