More Brooklyn Streets Open For Social Distancing

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Roughly three blocks in Downtown Brooklyn will become the borough's next batch of open streets for social distancing.

An L-shaped stretch of roads near the Jay Street-Metrotech station will close during the day starting Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced.

Those closures — the only new ones in Brooklyn — accounted for 0.17 miles out of nearly 2 miles shutting down citywide, according to the mayor's office. Most announced new closures were in business improvement districts.

“As the weather gets warmer, New Yorkers will need options to safely enjoy the sunshine– and we’re excited to give them even more options to do so,” de Blasio said in a statement. “We thank our partners at local BIDs, which play an essential role in making commercial areas safe places to social distance.

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Brooklynites now has three areas where residents can cavort on normally car-filled streets. Two of them — a single block running through a Bed-Stuy park and the new Downtown Brooklyn closures — are short.

The longest stretches lie around Prospect Park, where Parkside Avenue on the park's south edge and a handful of blocks along Prospect Park West on its northwest side are closed.

The Downtown Brooklyn street closures will last 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. They'll encompass Willoughby Street from Pearl Street to Lawrence Street, and a block of Lawrence to Fulton Street, according to a release.

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