• Subject: Open Plans' 2026 Agenda for a Livable City is out!
 
Open Plans: Transforming the streets of NYC to be truly livable

Each year, we release our  Agenda for a Livable City, which outlines our advocacy and legislative priorities for the year ahead. It also reflects the progress made possible through sustained engagement and partnership. In recent years, policies we advanced—such as permanent outdoor dining, the City’s Curb Management Action Plan, and expanded bus lane enforcement—have been enacted and are now shaping our streets.

Our 2026 agenda builds on these successes with a set of new priorities. These include establishing a year-round outdoor dining program that serves a wide range of businesses; implementing automated curb enforcement to make our streets safer and more efficient; establishing a more equitable and widely adapted School Streets program; and piloting low-traffic neighborhoods in every borough for calmer and quieter streets.

READ OUR 2026 AGENDA HERE
 
 
 

TAKE ACTION

Fund School Streets for All!

Every year, more schools apply for school streets, a program run by the Department of Transportation that closes off the streets in front of schools to traffic during the school day. We’ve seen the benefits firsthand when students and communities are prioritized. School Streets don’t just give children space to play, they also reduce air and noise pollution, and improve pedestrian safety. We love the program, but know that it needs more support from the City to live up to its full potential.

Join us in the fight by sending a letter directly to your Council Member and the Mamdani Administration calling for dedicated School Streets funding and permanent plaza blocks in every borough.

SEND A LETTER
 
 
 

LTNs

Envisioning LTNs in Brooklyn

Join us this March 3 for an evening on Low Traffic Neighborhoods (LTNs)! Local leaders and experts will share how design tools like diverters and traffic calming can cut speeding, improve air quality, and support walking, biking, and public space. 

RSVP

LTNs

All things London's LTNs

Streetfilms compiled all their videos and resources about London's Low Traffic Neighborhoods on one page. Whether you're looking for examples to imagine what LTNs could look like here in New York City or graphics and pictures to spread the word, this page has it all!

Learn more

OUTDOOR DINING

Will Speaker Julie Menin fix outdoor dining?

The current seasonal outdoor dining program has discouraged many restaurants from participating. Fortunately, Speaker Menin supports a year-round outdoor dining program, with lower costs and fewer bureaucratic requirements.

Read more

STREETOPIA

Livable Streets Ideas for the Upper West Side

Whether the goal is safety, affordability, or quality of life, changing how we use our streets—prioritizing people over cars—is necessary to get us there. Here are three things we can do today to get us closer to that goal.

Read more

INTERNSHIP

Summer internship applications are open!

Join Open Plans as a Livable Streets summer intern and dive into hands-on work making NYC a more people-centered, joyful place to live. You will also gain real-world experience in advocacy, research, and public policy. Deadline: March 1st

Apply now
 

Things to do

📢 Community Board Social Hours

  • Queens | Thu, Feb 12 | 6 PM-8 PM
  • Manhattan | Wed, Feb 18 | 6 PM-8 PM

Learn about Community Boards and mingle with current and prospective members at these borough social hours! CBs are made up of community members who play a key role in shaping the look and feel of neighborhoods. Whether you want to get involved or are simply curious about making a difference on a local level, we hope to see you there!

 

🚧 Robert Moses' Legacy of Harm: The Fight Against the Cross Bronx Expressway | Fri, Feb 13 | 9-10:30 AM

Join the Bronx River Alliance, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and NYU Wagner for a discussion on Robert Moses’ legacy of harm and the ongoing fight against the Cross Bronx Expressway. This discussion will explore how community power, storytelling, and data-driven advocacy confronted racist urban planning.

 

🚊 QueensLink Happy Hour | Fri, Feb 13 | 4 PM-7 PM

Join QueensLink for their Happy Hour next Friday evening at Pilot House Bar & Grill in the Rockaways! There will be live music featuring Cherry and the Gunnz and a special QueensLink themed cocktail!

 

💚 Love the Hub | Sat, Feb 14 | 11 AM-1 PM
Take pride in the city you love at this free interactive workshop for New Yorkers who care about a cleaner, healthier Bronx. Head to La Central YMCA (434 Westchester Ave) to learn who takes care of our streets, what it takes to keep our community clean, and how you can make a positive impact—plus enjoy light refreshments and prizes!

 

🌳 Cleanup on QueensWay | Sun, Feb 22 | 10 AM-12 PM
Join Trust for Public Land, Friends of the QueensWay, and NYC Parks to help transform a 3.5-mile stretch of abandoned railway into the future QueensWay trail and park. Meet at the Forest Park Grove section in historic Forest Park to create a green oasis for the 244,000+ Central Queens residents who live within a 10-minute walk of this community-led project.

 

🌷 Garden Tour: Winter Flora in Tompkins Square Park | Sun, Feb 22 | 11 AM

Come explore Tompkins Square Park’s pollinator pocket gardens in the midst of the winter season. Kathleen Corrigan, volunteer gardener with Friends of Tompkins Square Park and native plant expert, will teach about caring for gardens when plants are largely dormant. You’ll also have the opportunity to see some rare February blooms! Come ready to learn and connect with other native plant enthusiasts.

 

🏙️ Manhattan Borough President Inauguration & Borough Convention | Sun, Feb 22 | 1-4 PM
Join Brad Hoylman-Sigal as he's sworn in as Manhattan Borough President at Alice Tully Hall, then stay for Manhattan's first-ever Borough Convention—a facilitated, borough-wide conversation about the future of the borough. Bring your friends, family, and ideas on how to improve Manhattan

 

🎭 The Power Joker: A Robert Moses Comedy Show | Sun, Feb 22 | 5 PM

What happens when Robert Moses loses his power and attempts to host a late night talk show? This one-hour variety show features an explainer on NY State politics from Assemblymember Emily Gallagher, plus comedy, live music, and laughs inspired by that horrible "genius" Robert Moses. For anyone who loves The Power Broker or hates New York's car-centered infrastructure.

 

🐉 Lunar New Year: Lion Dance | Sat, Feb 28 | 1-2:30 PM
Ring in the Lunar New Year with Welcome to Chinatown and Gotham Park! Meet at the Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan side entrance at 1 PM sharp for a live lion dance and festive procession through Gotham Park, wrapping with a special performance before celebrations continue throughout Chinatown.

🚴🏾‍♀️ 2026 Women's Ride | Fri, Apr 11
Join the 5th Annual Women's Ride honoring caregivers and celebrating biking as freedom—getting to work, caring for family, and moving through our city with confidence. Roll out from Crotona Park in the Bronx for a ~10-12 mile ride to Randall's Island (near the farm & playground), and ride for safer, more accessible streets for all.

 

🏃🏽‍♀️ WE ACT Earth Day 5K | Sat, Apr 25 | 9 AM

Lace up for WE ACT's annual 5K at Randall's Island and run for environmental justice! All registrants get a free WE ACT membership and race t-shirt, with awards for top finishers and fundraisers (individual and team). Can't make it in person? Register for the virtual race option—all proceeds support WE ACT's community-driven climate work.

 

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