A stretch of one mile along Richmond Terrace on Staten Island was completely free of cars on Saturday as part of the city’s Summer Streets program. This was the first time the program has ever come to Staten Island.

"It's just nice to have a space that's car-free. You know, Staten Island is so dependent on cars. So it's nice to just be able to shut that down for a little bit," said Staten Island resident Chris Morello.

Saturday was the first of five Saturdays this summer that Summer Streets will be celebrated. The program is coming to all five boroughs for the first time.

The program, now in its 15th year, started out in Manhattan.

"I've been to the one in Manhattan, usually just to run through there because again, it's just incredible to have the streets belonging to the pedestrians," said Brooklyn Resident Liz Donohue, who was checking out the event Saturday on Staten Island.

The Summer Streets program provides fun activities to families, including performances and bikes that people can rent.

Aly Stoffo, the owner of Glam Gardener NYC, attended the celebration Saturday, helping people plant native wildflowers and learn about edible plants that grow across the city.

"We're not the forgotten borough anymore. We're here. We're present. And you can see that today," said New York City Department of Transportation Staten Island Borough Commissioner Roseann Caruana.

Summer Streets in Manhattan will be held on Aug. 5, 12 and 19.

The final Saturday of the program, Aug. 26, will bring Summer Streets to the Bronx and Brooklyn.