Councilmember Rivera Wants Permanent Open Streets

The majority of the New York City Council members are new and are part of a class that is the most diverse and progressive in city history. Over the next year Brian Lehrer will get to know all 51 members. This week we hear from Councilmember Carlina Rivera on her priorities for District 2, which reaches from parts of the Lower East Side and through the East Village to Murray Hill.

As a way to get to know each member we're asking them to bring a "show and tell" from their district, and Rivera "brought" pedestrianized spaces, like the Avenue B Open Street, "when we open streets to people we realize they can their gyms, community centers, restaurants and playgrounds." Rivera pointed to her bill, which the mayor signed in May, which makes Open Streets a permanent DOT program. 

We're interviewing all 51 Council Members over the course of the next year. Today we talked to District 2's @CarlinaRivera.

At the end of this lightening round we learned the CM has a 30 year old turtle named Freddy. pic.twitter.com/g2jbSCXlSy

— The Brian Lehrer Show and A Daily Politics Podcast (@BrianLehrer) January 11, 2022

Catch up with all the interviews here.