Summer Streets

A glance down from the 21st floor win­dow might sur­prise you in August. In lieu of antsy taxi cabs and meat trucks, street scenery will include pudgy chil­dren in rollerblades, cyclists in neon span­dex, and women push­ing heavy strollers, and even heav­ier gossip.

The allure of Sum­mer Streets might have some­thing to do with free­dom of mobil­ity, rede­fined: the cel­e­bra­tion, as spon­sored by the New York City Depart­ment of Trans­porta­tion, opens up seven miles from Brook­lyn Bridge to Cen­tral park to all forms of trans­porta­tion, except cars. For three con­sec­u­tive Sat­ur­days in August, bik­ers, jog­gers, cyclists, dancers and yoga enthu­si­asts can declare vic­tory over motor vehi­cles and travel the route with­out look­ing in both directions.

For the fear­less, Sum­mer Streets will fea­ture a new attrac­tion: a 160 foot long zip line in Foley Square near City Hall. Other activites, such as a 25-foot climb­ing wall near Lafayette and Spring Streets, and Week­end Walks in every bor­ough offered by the DOT, con­tinue the cel­e­bra­tion in its fifth year. For more infor­ma­tion, visit the event at the Depart­ment of Trans­porta­tion.

Image: NYC DOT