"It will take some time for drivers to get used to it," a Department of Transportation worker told EV Grieve on the last day of June. He was standing at Avenue B and 10th Street next to newly installed "Do Not Enter" signs. "That happened at 14th Street too."

As he spoke, car after car drove past the signs.

Three and a half months later, Avenue B is about to host the neighborhood's two biggest October street events. The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade marches down it on Saturday, Oct. 17. A Trick-or-Streets afternoon fills its southern blocks on Saturday, Oct. 31. Both are happening on a street with new rules and on a corridor where the work isn't done.

What's different on B since June

DOT began building the permanent version of the Avenue B Open Street in late June. The Open Street itself launched in 2020. According to the agency's June 29 announcement, the project covers Fourth Street to 12th Street and calls for more pedestrian space, a two-way bike connection, loading zones and a redesign of "every intersection in the project area" with curb extensions protected by "planters, bike corrals, granite blocks, or other elements." DOT's current-projects page gives the northern end as 13th Street, not 12th.

By late August, much of that plan was already marked on the street. Here's what EV Grieve documented on Aug. 25, compared with what is still only planned:

DOT describes a bike boulevard as a low-traffic, slow-speed street built to make cycling and micromobility more comfortable while still allowing local vehicle access. Vans can still use B for deliveries and loading.

The June release estimated completion within weeks. Later reporting doesn't confirm that, and DOT hasn't posted a current finish date. The most recent field report describes work continuing "in phases throughout the summer." In October, Avenue B is a street with new rules and unfinished hardware.

The parade route runs straight through the new section

The 2026 parade is the 36th. Organizers trace it back to Manhattan's first dog run and say it has grown into what many call the world's largest dog parade. According to the parade's FAQ page, here's how Oct. 17 is set up:

1. 11:00 a.m.: the parade steps off at East 13th Street and Avenue B.
2. It heads south down Avenue B.
3. It ends at East Seventh Street at Tompkins Square Park.
4. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: a public Festival Block runs on East Sixth Street between Avenues B and C.

Registration to march is full. Watching is free and doesn't require registration.

Put that route over the redesign table and the last stretch, from 10th Street down to Seventh, is exactly the section that became one-way northbound for cars this summer. The marchers walk south down blocks where cars can now only go north. On the west side, where parking is now banned between Seventh and Ninth, the curb lane next to Tompkins should have no parked cars between the march and the park. The organizers haven't said whether the new layout changes any of their viewing guidance. Their FAQ is the place to check before Saturday.

The park at the end of the route is being replanted this month

The parade finishes at Tompkins, and the park looks different from a month ago. EV Grieve reported on Oct. 2 that Parks crews had planted 10 new trees in a single day that week, with more to come before the work wraps up later in October.

The work so far includes:

• A rain garden of native plants near the dog run, planted by crews and volunteers.
• A mini-forest started on the Seventh Street side, between Avenue A and Avenue B.
• Rebuilt sidewalk tree pits and planting beds, with old stones removed, beds refilled and new stones set, plus tree maintenance.
• More trees expected along Avenue B between Seventh and Eighth streets.

That last item lines up with the redesign. The block where the parade ends, which is also the block that lost west-side parking, is scheduled for new street trees. The rain garden sits beside the dog run that started the parade in the first place.

What's open, closed and new along B and the next block over

The businesses along the corridor changed this summer too. Some of this is directly on B. The rest is a block west on Avenue A or on the side streets between the two.

All of these come from EV Grieve's storefront coverage. The timing of two of them matters for parade weekend. Barryville General's formal opening, on Friday, Oct. 16, falls the day before the parade, and its menu includes Café Aroma coffee, Party Bus baked goods and dairy-free soft serve from Lavender and Truffles. Thone is on Sixth Street, the same street as the parade's Festival Block, a couple of avenues west.

The Open Street also kept its programming going during construction. FABnyc listed an Avenue B Open Street concert for Sept. 19 with the Horacio Martínez Quartet and Nolan Nwachukwu's sextet.

Halloween moves to the south end

Two weeks after the parade uses the corridor's northern blocks, Halloween afternoon moves to its southern ones. DOT's Trick-or-Streets partner list shows two events on Saturday, Oct. 31, both from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.:

• Avenue B Open Street, from Seventh Street south to Third Street, run by the Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition.
• East Third Street between Avenues A and B, run by the Wild Project.

The two events meet at Third Street and B. Most of the Avenue B event sits south of the one-way section, on blocks that are inside the redesign area but outside the stretch where cars changed direction. DOT warns that listed events can be delayed or canceled.

The parade runs from 13th Street to Seventh, and Trick-or-Streets runs from Seventh to Third. Seventh Street, on the Tompkins side, is where the two routes meet, and it's also where the mini-forest is going in.

Parade Saturday, on foot

Here's one way to spend Oct. 17 that uses only the places above:

1. Morning coffee, north end. Lerivez Coffee on 12th Street between A and B is a block from the 13th Street step-off.
2. 11 a.m., Avenue B. Watch the parade head south. Watching is free and takes no registration.
3. Seventh Street. Follow the route to its end at Tompkins and walk the Seventh Street edge, where the mini-forest is going in between A and B.
4. Sixth Street, B to C. The Festival Block is open until 4 p.m.
5. Lunch. Salumeria Rosi is back at 222 Avenue B, or walk west on Sixth to Thone at 501 E. Sixth.
6. Afternoon, Avenue A. Barryville General at 70 Avenue A will be one day past its formal opening, and Rabbit Books and Bar is at 170 Avenue A at 11th Street.

On the way back up B, look at the corners. The protected curb extensions are the part of the plan that hadn't been confirmed as built when this was written, and the next round of construction will show up there first.

If you own on one of these blocks and want to know how the Avenue B changes might come up when you sell or lease, Max Moondoc has followed the corridor since the first signs went up. Let's figure this out together: get a free home valuation.