Part of Broadway will be car-free on April 27 for Earth Day

A two-mile stretch from Union Square to Times Square will be closed to cars

For the fourth year running, the city is making Broadway car-free to celebrate Earth Day. On Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., a nearly two-mile stretch of the thoroughfare—the 30 blocks between Union Square and Times Square—will be closed to vehicular traffic, with pedestrians and cyclists getting the run of the place.

City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez first pushed for introducing Car-Free Day back in 2016. That year, a smaller stretch of Broadway—from Union Square to the Flatiron Building—was given the pedestrians-only treatment.

But in the years since, it's bloomed into a smaller version of the ever-popular Summer Streets initiative, with programming like dance performances, craft workshops, and art installations as part of the proceedings. That all happens at major points throughout the route, including Times Square, Herald Square, and the Flatiron Building.

Additionally, other typically high-traffic areas throughout the five boroughs will go car-free on April 27 as part of the DOT's Weekend Walks programs. Those are:

• Lane Avenue from Westchester to East Tremont avenues in the Bronx (noon to 3 p.m.)
• Albee Square Plaza and Albee Square West between Fulton and Willoughby streets in Downtown Brooklyn (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• Forsyth Street from Canal Street to East Broadway in lower Manhattan (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• St. Nicholas Avenue from 181st to 190th streets in Washington Heights (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
• Woodside Avenue from 75th to 77th streets in Queens (11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• Castleton Avenue from Oakland to Davis avenues (noon to 6 p.m.)

Now let's hope that the weather on April 27 is better than it has been in the rest of the month.