Season 6 - Week 1
Days until launch: 1
Folks — the 2025 season of the 31st Ave Open Street has arrived. (Cue the fireworks!)
Starting Saturday, the two blocks of 31st Ave from 33rd to 35th Street will close to traffic and parking from 12pm to 8pm every weekend until December. Our all-volunteer crew is so excited to welcome everyone back, with tons planned these next few weeks. We’re starting off our sixth season strong!
To mark the occasion, we’re returning to our old newsletter format for the foreseeable future: topline updates, relevant articles, and then upcoming weekend schedule. Every Friday, delivered to your inbox. Just to keep things nice and tight as we get the OS going.
So without further ado, here’s what you need to know:
Open Street Updates
The highway traffic signs have appeared, with some news: Phase II (from 31st Street to Steinway) of the 31st Ave ‘bike boulevard’ redesign starts Monday, April 29th. Watch this space.
Since last week’s newsletter, our petition to support the redesign of 31st Street—not to be confused with 31st Ave—has accrued nearly 3,000 signatures and news coverage. (Nearly 20 volunteers also showed up at the local community board meeting.) If you also think 31st Street is a hot mess, give it your John Hancock. Next up: poster-hanging, canvassing, and signature-gathering from friendly businesses and organizations. Stay tuned!
This Saturday is Car-Free Earth Day, which doubles as the unofficial launch of the Open Street season. 31st Ave is just one of the official programming sites—check out the whole map here.
News Clips
Yes, the free movies and BBQ are coming back this summer. (A few of them, in fact!) But they need your support to happen. Donate today!
Right now, the future of Open Street dollars is uncertain. That’s why we need to send a message to City Hall loud and clear: fully fund this program! (Sign the petition saying exactly that here.)
Oh, and speaking of the mayor: our Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani—an Open Street regular—shouted out our efforts on Hasan Piker’s stream. Pretty neat!
And last but not least: we were proud to testify at the City Council this week, in support of ‘universal daylighting.’ You can watch the hearing in its two parts here and here on YouTube. If you’d like to learn more about what universal daylighting would look like for the city, check out this website by Astoria’s own street safety advocate, Miser (who had his own testimony to share with the city council).
Alrighty, let’s talk weekend plans:
Saturday, April 26th, 2025 (Car-Free Earth Day)
12pm-8pm: Outdoor Seating + Lawn Games
12:30pm-1:30pm: 31st Ave Weekly Litter Cleanup
12:30pm-6pm: Know Your Rights Tabling
12:30pm-5pm: Podcast on the Street
12:30pm-3:30pm: Citizen Science Tabling
12:30pm-3pm: Book Fundraiser for Gaza
1pm-6pm: Astoria Food Pantry Tabling
1pm-5pm: Magic: The Gathering - Community Jam and Trade Day
1pm-3pm: Plant Swap
3pm-6pm: Community Cookout Series (Pt. 1) feat. Tikkun BBQ and Astoria Horror Club
3pm-5pm: Playful Productions
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Sunday, April 27th, 2025 (Market Day)
9am-11am*: Street Tree Care w/31st Ave Open Street (RSVP here)
12:00pm-6pm: Queer Clothing Swap hosted by QFFP
1pm-6pm: Astoria Food Pantry Tabling
1pm-5pm: Queens Collective for Palestine Raffle for PCRF
1pm-5pm: Community Yard Sale
1:30pm-2:30pm: Astoria Reading Party
3pm-5pm: Tea and Milk Sip & Paint (Tickets here)
*This event is outside of normal Open Street operating hours.
For more information on each event, check out our Instagram.
Upcoming Market Opportunities
If you’re interested in selling on the Open Street, read our FAQs first here.
Public Markets Now Open for Signups!
More updates about markets organized by members of the community will be shared in upcoming newsletters and through our Markets WhatsApp group.
Join Your Neighbors!
Sign up for a Setup, Breakdown or Tabling shift this weekend and join the 31OS crew! All are welcome and no prior experience is required. The most help is needed during 12pm-1pm and 7pm-8pm but tabling shifts are available all day for anyone interested in keeping an eye on things and talking with members of the community who may have questions.
Two special shifts are available this week for New (or returning!) Volunteer Training where we will cover the operations of the Open Street and show everyone the ropes. All are welcome! For those of you who already know the drill, all shifts are available for signup on our Volunteer page again like last year.
Saturday 4/26 - Volunteer Training: 11:30am-12:30pm
Sunday 4/27 - Volunteer Training: 11:30am-12:30pm
For more info on the types of volunteering shifts and to see all that are available, check out our website.
If you want to help, but can’t make it to the street in person, there are lots of other tasks and projects we’re working on throughout the week. Fill out our Volunteer Interest Form to share what you like to do and we’ll reach out if we have something!
Stay Connected via WhatsApp
Want to stay in touch with 31OS and your neighbors even when the Open Street isn’t active? Use our invite link to join the 31st Ave Open Street WhatsApp Community today!
Share Your Feedback
We strive to make the Open Street a pleasant experience for all, so if you have any feedback that you’d like to share with the volunteers we’d love to hear it! Our Feedback form is available 24/7 for members of the community to send their thoughts directly to our team.
Support the Open Street
It takes a lot to run the 31st Ave Open Street, such as renting storage space from our business partners, paying for insurance (which is no longer reimbursed by the NYCDOT), and buying supplies like extra chairs, sidewalk chalk, and trash bags to keep our street clean. We list a few of the materials that we are in frequent need of on our donation page including links to our Givebutter campaign for those who would like to contribute financially.
Every bit helps and we appreciate your support in making 31st Ave a better place for all! Thank you!
