Harlem Blocks To Become 'Cool Streets' To Beat The Heat

HARLEM, NY — Summer has hit New York City and residents don't have many options to cool down with pools closed due to social distancing measures to curb the spread of coroanvirus. The city will establish "Cool Streets" in Harlem where fire hydrants will be outfitted with spray caps to help locals beat the heat.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday that 14 blocks closed to traffic throughout the five boroughs will now be turned into "Cool Streets" as part of his plan to keep New Yorkers cool amid limits on pools and beaches caused by the coronavirus crisis.

“Running through the spray of a fire hydrant is a venerable New York City tradition and a sign that summer is in full swing,” NYC DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said Tuesday. “...These new Cool Streets will make [the Open Streets] program better, safer and more fun when the temperatures get high.”

The four Manhattan blocks selected for the "Cool Streets" program are located in Harlem. The spots were chosen by looking at blocks with the most shade from trees in areas that rank highest in the Heat Vulnerability Index, a measure of heat-related health risks across the city's neighborhoods, city officials said.

Each of the "Cool Streets" fire hydrants will be set up with spray caps so that they can be used during heat advisories.

The initiative comes months after de Blasio announced the city's public pools and beaches would not be open for the start of summer due to the coronavirus crisis.

Instead, the mayor put together a plan for cooling initiatives, including reopening 950 and adding 250 new sprinklers, spray showers and misting stations across the five boroughs.

The city's beaches eventually reopened July 1 and 15 public pools are set to open by August.

Here are the "Cool Streets" opening in Manhattan:

• East 101st Street between Park and Third avenues;
• West 117th Street between Morningside and Fifth avenues;
• West 138th Street between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard;
• Edgecombe Avenue between St. Nicholas Place and West 145th Street

A full list of Open Streets and Cool Streets can be found here.

Patch's Anna Quinn contributed to this report