欧美文化:Car-free streets, performances, other activities mark New Yorkers' Earth Day

NEW YORK, April 22 (Xinhua) -- As the city celebrates the Earth Day which falls on Friday, New Yorkers are seeing car-free streets, pop-up performances and many other in-person activities.

New York City will have over 80 streets reserved solely for pedestrians and cyclists across its five boroughs, and Citi Bike, a public bicycle sharing system in the city, will offer free one-day passes for new riders on the Car-Free Earth Day on Saturday, said a recent release by the city's transportation department.

"We can't drive our way out of the climate crisis, and Car-Free Earth Day will not only help get cars off the road, but exemplify how prioritizing pedestrians can benefit our communities," said Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

As many as 150 partner organizations and local agencies will provide community-based performances, activities for all ages and programming promoting education surrounding climate change, sustainability and other topics, said the release.

Pop-up performances and live music will be staged for free by Broadway performers on Saturday.

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday announced that 60 zero-emission electric buses would be deployed in New York City by the end of 2022.

In Bushwick, a neighborhood in New York City, a rainforest mural featuring a variety of rainforest vegetation was unveiled on Friday on the occasion of Earth Day.

Early Friday, 13 protesters calling attention to the world's climate emergency were arrested for blocking a printing facility of The New York Times in Queens.