Can ‘Open Streets’ Outlast the Pandemic?

The early set-up shift for my local “Open Street” in western Queens starts at 8 a.m. on weekends. That’s when neighborhood volunteers drag the metal barricades, some adorned with signs, banners or decorations, into the streets from the curb.

“The key is to place them in specific spots,” said Evie Hantzopoulos, a neighbor and local advocate (and city council candidate), as we heaved them over together. She demonstrated her tactics as we shared a shift one morning: barricades placed on the right of the avenue, so drivers making a left had to pull all the way over; or just a few feet apart, so cars had to slow down, if only out of caution for their mirrors.