A new Open Streets program landed on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights this summer, fulfilling the founding mission of the local merchants’ association.
Franklin Avenue Merchants President Gwen Woods said her association was founded two years ago for the express purpose of eventually hosting an Open Streets on Franklin Avenue.
“We’re one of the major corridors in Brooklyn, a great mix of retail, restaurants, and boutiques,” representing a mix of Black, brown, and white business owners, Woods said.
Though hampered by rain, the first Open Streets on June 7 was a success, Woods said. Offerings included arts and crafts, health and wellness education, a live band and expanded outdoor seating at local restaurants and bars.
The program’s second iteration on June 21 boasted clear skies and a bigger crowd. King, who runs Franklin Avenue Piña Coladas King and refers to himself by that name, was busy selling cold beverages to the many passersby.
“We’re here doing this for the community,” King said. “This is all about love. We bring our brothers outside, we drink and be merry…Good times, good vibes, that’s what we’re about over here.”
Though a fixture on Franklin Avenue since before Open Streets started, King emphasized the value of the program as an engine for community and commerce.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “It’s allowing us to get together in a peaceful setting, and just show how different we are bringing it all together—one love.”
Though the focus of Open Streets centers on Franklin Avenue merchants, the program also extends opportunities to folks residing outside the six-block closure, which extends from St. Marks Avenue to Eastern Parkway.
Lena James, a Ditmas Park resident, taught a free, hour-long fitness class on a recent Saturday afternoon. Despite the stifling heat, her class was well-attended, including many participants who just happened to be passing by. James took pride in how many curious onlookers she convinced to participate.
James, who works at Crunch Fitness and maintains a private trainer practice under the moniker Ms. Lena James Fit, said the Open Streets program offers an opportunity to expand her professional network and grow her brand.
“We just need more spaces of community,” said James, who was contracted by the nonprofit Bridge Street Development Corporation, an organizing partner of Franklin Avenue Open Streets, to conduct a class. “COVID really decimated so many spaces where we are in community and where we’re together…This helps to remedy that.”
The Open Streets program was started by the city during the pandemic to expand opportunities for outdoor community gatherings. Since then, some residents have criticized the program, citing concerns around safety, noise pollution and neighborhood hygiene, thanks to the large and raucous crowds some programs have attracted.
Bridge Street, which recently severed ties from one such controversial Open Streets program on Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, projected optimism about the new Franklin Avenue program.
Bridge Street Director of Economic Development Tiara Robertson explained: “Like any street closure initiative, we’ve encountered challenges. But with those challenges come lessons learned.”
Bridge Street President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Anderson said that the new program embodied Bridge Street’s “broader commitment to strengthening neighborhoods through creative placemaking and community-centered economic development.”
This sentiment was echoed by Robertson, who highlighted her excitement “to roll out programming that reflects the culture of the neighborhood, supports small businesses and offers families a safe and engaging space to gather.”
Woods stressed that Franklin Avenue Open Streets aims to put families first, offering kid-friendly activities during daylight hours—hoping to “keep the peace but make it festive as well.”
“So far it seems we’ve been well-received by the neighborhood,” Woods said.
Still, her focus remains fixed on winning the hearts of the wider community, many of whom have yet to hear about the new program.
Franklin Avenue Open Streets will run two Saturdays per month through October. The avenue, between St. Marks Avenue and Eastern Parkway, will be closed to vehicles from 11:00am to 7:00pm, with programming running from 12:00pm to 6:00pm.
