New York City launching Open Streets season with largest-ever car-free Earth Day celebration
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The New York City Department of Transportation kicks off Open Streets this weekend with Car Free Earth Day.
This year's 54th anniversary will be celebrated on April 20 with seven signature car-free streets.
This year marks eight years in a row.
Car Free Earth Day is a chance to take over city streets in more than 250 locations and say goodbye to cars and pollution and hello fun!
It's a day to celebrate life on Earth.
"We need to enjoy what we got from Mother Earth. We got rain, we've got to enjoy it raining," said Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, NYC DOT.
On the day, the specifics were announced it was a deluge, but fingers are crossed that on Car-Free Saturday it will be a little nicer.
"On Saturday, April 20 we will celebrate the largest Open Streets Earth Day to date," he said.
Car-free streets will be all over the five boroughs, in hundreds of locations but "most notably" in Manhattan on Broadway from 46th Street down to 17th Street.
- In Brooklyn on 5th Ave
- In Queens on Woodside
- In the Bronx on East 188th Street
- And in Staten Island on Port Richmond Avenue
Also, the day will run one hour longer, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
"We will be using health, art, wellness, yoga, and performance!" Rodriguez said.
As they've done for years before, people will be walking their dogs, riding bikes, dancing, working out, roller skating, and just taking over the streets of New York.
Want to ride but don't have a bike? Citi Bike is offering free unlimited 30-minute rides on Car Free Earth Day - April 20th, on their app using the promo code CARFREE24.
It promises to be a big day to say "yes" to the Earth and to have fun on the streets while we leave our cars at home.
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