Cristina Lopez, a resident of Long Island City in Queens, worked up a sweat today exercising and dancing at the same time. She took advantage of the free Zumba classes, one of the many activities organized by the Department of Transportation as part of the NYC Summer Streets program.
“Well, I think that this is a great opportunity for ‘Summer Street’ because it offers you the chance to share time with your family and the kids, where you can have a healthy time,” said Cristina. “I think it’s a space that helps you a lot with your mental activity, your physical activity, and it puts you in a very happy moment where you can share.”
Sharing is what this event is all about. It takes place on car-free streets, where residents of the five boroughs can enjoy art exhibits, Zumba and yoga classes, among many other free activities for the whole family.
Participants can also take out their skates or bikes to stay active and healthy.
“It’s super important and I can’t explain how much it helped me when I discovered skates, because I have a lot of hyperactive energy,” said Liliet Reyes. “So, the same with children, children discover skates and it’s like ‘wow’, I don’t want the phone anymore, what I want now is for them to buy me some skates and start skating. They start doing other things. It’s good for their body, for their mental health.”
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said the program expanded to 20 miles of open streets this year. And for the first time, activities on car-free streets will be extended by two additional hours, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“Yes, this is a good project for the community. As we can see, they gather, they all come and here we close the street, the street is closed and we have this possibility of being here doing exercise and dancing for the whole community that wants to do Zumba,” said Wilmer Lopez, Zumba instructor. “Exercise is the best thing there is. So while you make a choreography, you make it with such diversity from around the world so that everyone has fun.”
The Summer Streets program continues for the next four Saturdays in August, on different streets throughout the city.
The next three weeks will take place in Manhattan and will close on August 24 with activities in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
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