NYC Introduces Permanent Gated School Street in Hudson Square

NYC has unveiled the first permanently gated 'School Street' in Hudson Square, a pedestrianized block next to a public school. The city installed a swing gate, modeled after Parisian gates, to keep traffic out during school hours and open up the space for students and community members.

The initiative, funded by a $100,000 grant and supported by General Motors, aims to create a safer, more welcoming public space for students and community members. Unlike previous temporary gates, the new permanent gates are easier to maintain and open up possibilities for creative expansion across the city.

The project is part of the DOT's broader Open Streets initiative and follows a report by Comptroller Mark Levine highlighting the need for a more streamlined and expanded model for the program.

Open Plans, the organization behind the initiative, called the School Streets program an 'essential' component of students' development, especially for the over 370 city public schools without on-site recreation space.

Community planner Sabina Sethi Unni at Open Plans added, 'School Streets are essential for providing NYC students with a place to socialize and grow, especially at the over 370 city public schools without on-site recreation space.'

‘Clarkson Street is a model for expanding this program to as many schools as possible,’ Unni said. The new gates follow a report by Comptroller Mark Levine, which found that the current School Streets model had a low participation rate, with only 74 schools participating in the 2025-26 school year.

‘What is so exciting about this approach is that it really opens the possibilities to take that creativity with our streets and expand it citywide with something that is really lower maintenance and works better from a variety of standpoints,’ Flynn said.

The new gates are part of the DOT's broader Open Streets initiative and could potentially be expanded for School Streets and other types of Open Streets, with the hope of creating 'school plaza blocks' and 'limited-entry School Streets' citywide.