City Council Passes Bill to Make Open Streets Program Permanent

Bill to make Open Streets permanent passes City Council

The city’s popular Open Streets program is one step closer to becoming permanent. In a 39-8 vote, the City Council on Thursday passed a bill to make the program a permanent part of New York City, even after the end of the pandemic. The legislation is now headed to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s desk, where it’s expected to be signed into law.

Under the bill, Open Streets will be overseen by the Department of Transportation or local community organizations, who can apply to manage the programs in their neighborhoods. Roadways included in Open Streets will also be up for annual review, at which point DOT can recommend permanent design changes to streets, such as the construction of shared roads or pedestrian plazas.

The mayor previously announced his support for making Open Streets permanent in September, saying at the time that the program was “an important part of how we recover as a city.” The fiscal year 2022 budget, meanwhile, has already earmarked more than $4 million in funding to bring the program back next year.

In other news

— An outpost of Roberta’s Pizza is the latest food business to open in Williamsburg’s Domino Park. The pizzeria is set to open its doors at the base of the One South First apartment complex this afternoon, joining locations of Oddfellows, Other Half Brewery, and Two Hands (the brunch spot, not the Korean corn dog chain).

— New Yorkers know that the best bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches are found at their neighborhood deli, but this week several popular restaurants, including Adda, Milu, and Melba’s, are reinventing the classic sandwich as part of a partnership with ChowNow.

— Singaporean street food restaurant Laut Singapura launches a tasting menu ahead of AAPI Heritage Month. The $60 menu centers around buah keluak, a fruit native to the mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia, according to a spokesperson for the restaurant.

— A driver crashed into the outdoor dining set-up at Rosatoro Restaurant in Queens last night, killing a scooter driver and injuring a diner at the restaurant.

— Local key lime pie vendor Caitlin Hubner is setting up shop at Las’ Lap on the Lower East Side this Saturday. Her popular custardy desserts go on sale at 10 a.m.

— Food delivery apps continue to list restaurants on their platforms without consent, according to the owner of Abe’s Pagoda Bar in Bushwick.

— Grub Street steps inside Kuih Cafe, a Chinatown business specializing in Malaysian desserts and snacks.

— New York’s newest Instagram-bait restaurant comes from Eataly and the Color Factory.

— An update from the Reply All team about the Bon Appétit test kitchen series.

— Petition to make them year-round: