As part of his initiative to make New York more pedestrian-friendly, Mayor Eric Adams has launched an Open Streets initiative in the famed Fifth Avenue area of the city, including a private-public partnership ‘Future of the Fifth’ to make vast swathes of the area entire free of vehicles.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said that his administration’s holiday season Open Streets initiative in Midtown Manhattan, which made Fifth Avenue vehicle-free for the first time in a half-century and brought back popular pedestrian-focused areas around Rockefeller Center was a boon for local businesses in 2022.

According to a new study conducted by Mastercard, in partnership with the New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) and Chief Public Realm Officer Ya-Ting Liu, the transformation of 11 city blocks into pedestrian-friendly public spaces as part of New York City’s largest-ever holiday season-specific Open Streets drove an estimated USD 3 million in additional spending at businesses along pedestrianised streets, with merchants on Open Streets seeing a 6.6 pc increase in spending over similar blocks that were not opened to pedestrians.

The Open Streets initiative laid the groundwork for Mayor Adams’ effort, announced last December in the “New” New York Panel’s “Making New York Work for Everyone” action plan, to permanently reimagine Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Central Park.

According to Adam’s plans, bringing together city government and community stakeholders across East Midtown, the process will draw on the years of study of this critical corridor, one of the world’s leading shopping, office, and tourism destinations and a key economic engine for the neighborhood and the city, to craft a plan that will make Fifth Avenue more appealing to residents, workers, and visitors with world-class public space.

The plans involving transforming Fifth Avenue between Bryant Park and Central Park into an innovative pedestrian-focused space for the public to enjoy, with public realm improvements like expanded green space, new tree plantings, and enhanced lighting. It will also prioritise sustainable modes of transportation and mass transit, including speeding up bus travel.

It will also aim at significantly increasing pedestrian space across the avenue, expanding sidewalks and prioritising accessibility and pedestrian mobility. The plan’s objectives include improving street safety, including for cycling.

To realise this vision, Mayor Adams has established the Future of Fifth, a public-private partnership between New York City and four key business improvement districts and civic organisations namely Fifth Avenue Association, Grand Central Partnership, Bryant Park Corporation, and Central Park Conservancy.

“Open Streets were an essential part of our city’s economic recovery, and they will continue to be a core part of our city’s future. The research is clear that Open Streets bring more people to our city’s public spaces, more business to our city’s stores, and more jobs to New Yorkers. That’s why we are reimagining Fifth Avenue as a safer, less congested, pedestrian-centered boulevard that also prioritises public space, mass transit, and cyclists. That’s why we are excited to establish this public-private partnership and bring on this team of exceptional partners who will help us ensure that businesses and pedestrians can enjoy the benefits of a more open, accessible city, not just in December but all year round,” says Adams.