34th Ave Open Street in Queens (via NYC DOT)
By Mark Chiusano
With the 2025 New York City mayoral race in full swing, CityLand sent a brief, initial list of questions to major contenders for the Democratic nomination to get an idea of where the candidates stand on several key public space issues that have been the source of policy shifts and public debate over the last several years: outdoor dining, Open Streets, and trash containerization. The next mayor’s stance on these — and many other — public space issues will significantly impact New Yorkers’ lives and day-to-day experiences.
Below are condensed and selected responses from former Assemblymember Michael Blake, City Comptroller Brad Lander, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and investor Whitney Tilson.
There are some key distinctions on these issues, and some striking rebuttals to the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, whose tenure has included marked shifts on these topics. Representatives for the mayor’s reelection campaign did not respond to the questions about the future of these programs, but Adams has touted his administration’s work to create a legal year-round outdoor dining program and accelerate the implementation of trash containerization. His administration has been tepid about supporting or expanding the Open Streets program, wherein certain blocks or thoroughfares are closed to cars and opened to pedestrians, bikers, and leisure activities.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign also did not respond to the questions, while City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams just launched her campaign. Like the mayor, however, she has a recent record on public space issues, having shepherded legislation on zoning reform and the current outdoor dining program, which in some key ways reflect her preferences (in 2022 she suggested that outdoor dining should be largely “sidewalk structures instead of the structures that we have in the streets”).
State Senator Jessica Ramos, meanwhile, also did not send responses, but addressed some of these issues during a recent mayoral candidate forum, and those stances are included below.
(If any of the four send responses after publication, CityLand will update this article. Other articles on the candidates’ approaches to land use issues will follow.)
OUTDOOR DINING
Blake, Lander, Mamdani, Myrie, Ramos, and Stringer all support a year-round version of the city’s new outdoor dining program, which launched during the pandemic and was more formally codified by City Council legislation in 2023. The new program allows sidewalk cafes for all twelve months, but roadway structures–the parking-space contraptions that were the love it or hate it symbol of COVID-era dining–are only permitted between April 1 and November 29 each year.
The new regime satisfied the concerns of some who wanted parking spots back, and who thought the sheds went underused in the cold. But problems have percolated. Restaurant owners have complained about the application saga and also the need to store expensive structures over the winter. Currently, just a few dozen licenses have been approved. Hundreds more will have to rely on conditional approval and are moving through what even the Department of Transportation calls a “cumbersome” process.
Blake, Lander, Mamdani, Myrie, and Stringer highlighted various changes to ease the application process:
Lander would upgrade the application technology to allow for such features as “the ability to save partially submitted applications.” His answer focused on ways to improve the user experience for applicants, as well as committing to a 30-day application processing timeline.
He also suggested allowing currently-bare-bones sidewalk cafe structures to be “enclosed” during the winter months.
Blake said the “cumbersome” new rules should be “re-evaluated,” including regulations on siting, community board approval timelines, architectural rendering requirements, and the structure of fees, multiple of which are charged to participating restaurants.
There was a general sense that the program needs revision. Myrie said that “if we want outdoor dining to be successful, we need to make it easier and more accessible for restaurants to participate.” Mamdani similarly said he would “eliminate the unnecessary and cumbersome design restrictions placed on restaurants.”
Stringer promised he would “work to loosen design requirements, improve enforcement of cleanliness standards, and ensure adequate pedestrian passage.” He’d invest in a “dedicated support program for small businesses” to help them navigate the process.
In his answer, Tilson supported some level of full-time outdoor dining through “permanent, high-quality structures.” He otherwise focused more on different aspects of the program, including holding “restaurants accountable for maintaining their spaces clean and rodent-free, with clear, streamlined enforcement to remove abandoned structures.”
Ramos talked about her support for year-round outdoor dining at a February candidate forum hosted by transportation and community groups. “Because the streets are for people and not for cars,” she argued.
OPEN STREETS
Lander, Mamdani, Myrie, Stringer, and Tilson were all broadly supportive of a robust Open Streets program, another initiative that exploded in popularity during the pandemic. Major thoroughfares like Vanderbilt Avenue in Brooklyn and 34th Avenue in Queens saw stretches become car-free for select hours or periods. They’ve welcomed pedestrians, bikers, seating, programming like music or “chess and chalk,” and generally just more open public space for people to congregate, play, or move about. But in the years since their 2020 origins, even some of the most well-used locations have seen hours cut or even cancelled and funding slashed, with dozens of miles disappearing, after complaints from some community members or lack of funding for tasks like barricade setup.
Some candidates had specific ideas for the future of Open Streets:
Mamdani supports expansion of pedestrianized streets and is promising in particular “an open street for every school.” Rather than having schools opt-in to the program, which carves out space for recess or classes or simply safer dropoff/pickup on a car-free street, he proposes flipping it to opt-out, “so schools are automatically enrolled in School Streets.”
Tilson supports a “permanent” status to successful open streets: “Streets that have proven to boost foot traffic and business revenue should remain car-free or pedestrian-friendly.” He also wants more amenities like greenery, seating, art, and programming, as well as “traffic planning” to ensure the streets don’t “create unintended gridlock or accessibility issues.”
Stringer envisions “expanding” Open Streets citywide, “but with a focus on fairness to ensure all neighborhoods benefit, not just wealthy areas.” Among his other Open Streets ideas are a streamlined application process and “more resources and support” to community groups running the car-free streets. He would also “explore making some successful Open Streets permanent pedestrian plazas.”
Myrie decried the severe loss in mileage from the original Open Streets, saying he would “restore and expand” the program and “ensure that neighborhoods that were underrepresented the first time – like the Bronx and Staten Island – have the same opportunity to benefit.”
Lander’s campaign said his platform “will prioritize the creation of vibrant, pedestrian-friendly streets” and said more specifics will be forthcoming as he unveils his issue-specific plans.
Blake offered a tonally different take, praising Open Streets but saying “the program as it is now is woefully underfunded, lacks qualified CBO [community-based organization] partners, and the enforcement necessary to continue its success.” He said it should be “reevaluated, sited appropriately (based on community feedback) and it must be funded with prompt upfront payments to the CBOs that are leading the programming.”
TRASH CONTAINERIZATION
New York is in the process of joining fellow big cities around the world in requiring that trash goes in bins, not black plastic bags piled sloppily on the sidewalks and spilling into roadways. This major shift to the streetscape, meant to cut off access to a rodent food source and make the curb less messy and sidewalks more walkable, has already started to take place: businesses had to switch to bins with lids last spring, and the new requirements extended to small residential buildings in November. Larger residential properties are slated to face similar requirements soon, as new curbside containers get tested with a major Manhattan pilot program.
All the responding candidates but Blake support the container initiative, with some common suggestions and complaints about the rollout. Highlights include:
Stringer and Lander spotlighted where in particular new containers should go. Stringer wants to prioritize “shared on-street containers instead of individual bins that clutter sidewalks,” with Lander similarly wanting to ensure “big trash bins go in the curb lane instead of the sidewalk, preserving pedestrian space and access.” (Some medium-sized buildings are already supposed to prepare to choose between “stationary on-street containers and individual trash bins.”)
In that vein, Myrie called containerization “a step in the right direction” but said we must watch out for quality-of-life issues: “For example, if trash containers are blocking our sidewalks, we should amend our approach and consider curbside pickup in areas where it makes sense.”
Stringer also pointed to a need to “integrate” containerization with better recycling and composting, something supported by Mamdani, who notes that “the Mayor’s plan still keeps plastic bags on the streets for recyclables, one of the major attractions for rats.”
Mamdani also flagged a need to be “cognizant of the ever-present capacity restrictions businesses and residences face in the city.”
Tilson suggested various tweaks to the effort such as “incentivizing compliance” with “tax incentives or subsidies for buildings that adopt modernized trash solutions quickly.”
Blake stood apart from the field on this issue, agreeing that containerization could help with the rodent problem but stating that “the containerization program does not accommodate for the unique context of NYC’s neighborhoods, sidewalk widths, ADA access, and storage of these containers nightly.” He called the effort “noble in intention” but said it “does not adhere to the basic premises of neighborhood planning.”
Stay tuned for the next installment of this series on the mayoral candidates’ public space and land use positions. The focus until July will be on the party primary contests set for June, where there is currently a highly-competitive Democratic primary.
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Mark Chuisano is a Senior Fellow in New York Law School’s Center for New York City and State Law and the author of The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos.