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Working to Reclaim Public Space for the Public Good on the UWS

These folks are trying to tell you what they need. (Image: Ghuncha Shaheed)

It's in our nature, as social beings in physical bodies, to take up space.

This happens in a literal sense—you are here, present in this room or on this sidewalk. But also on an emotional level. We all want to belong. We want to be counted and feel cared for. And sometimes, we just need a place to sit down.  

In a city of eight million people, this taking up of space often happens publicly, in proximity to others doing the same thing. And there is no more abundant public space in New York City than our streets.

But what happens when those streets fall short of meeting the needs of those who use and rely on them? And in what ways do people improvise and adapt public space to suit their needs? 

This question became a central theme over the past few months for our summer intern, Ghuncha Shaheed, a student in Urban Placemaking at Pratt Institute. 

With a rigorous approach to inquiry and an intuitive sense of equity, Ghuncha approached our campaign to reimagine W72 Street through a fresh lens, looking for examples of informal placemaking already occurring, and what those examples might tell us about needs along the corridor. 

Ghuncha also brought her incredible skills as a photographer, and before the summer was over, we made sure to talk to her about the unique power of photography to reveal truths, and what her photographs might tell us about West 72nd Street.

You can read our interview with Ghuncha, and see her photographs, at the links below.

Livable Streets News You Can Use 

Nothing shows off the potential of New York City's public space like Summer Streets, where all the cars are removed from entire avenues, and people are invited into space that is usually off limits, too dangerous, or both. Check out the joy and possibility when hundreds of thousands of your friends and neighbors reclaim the street. WATCH >

Everyone has an opinion about NYC's outdoor dining program, but it's hard to argue that storing personal property (private cars) is a better use of curb space than thriving restaurants and bustling street life. Unfortunately, the new seasonal program has led to a sharp decline in the number of restaurants participating, which is a real loss for the UWS.  READ >

MTA funding often takes center stage in the discussion of the Governor's illegal congestion pricing pause, but the congestion part is equally important. In fact, the MTA's own rider advocacy group says the law on the books is the only option that meets our overlapping funding, climate, safety, and livability goals, which is why we need congestion pricing now.  READ >

Take Action and Make Change

✅  ADD YOUR NAME: Support Kids Riding Bikes to School Through Central Park – Whether you’re a parent, teacher, administrator, student, or ally, add your name to the letter asking to give kids legal ways to cross the park on a bike. 

✅  SEND A LETTER: Help Expand Summer Streets (Even More) – Summer Streets keeps getting better, but you can help make it a summer-long weekend fixture as a blueprint for permanent public space for people. 

✅  COMPLETE THE SURVEY: Give Feedback on the Columbus Ave Open Street – Before it returns in September, help the Columbus Avenue BID by giving feedback on the open street so far. Tell them what you like and what you’d like to see more of. 

Items of Interest

🔘  Wouldn't you know, car-free streets are good for business.

🔘  Meanwhile, subsidizing car-centric infrastructure means rail infrastructure crumbles, snarling the nation’s only proper intercity train route. 

🔘  In other mobility news, e-bikes are transforming how people get around worldwide, even in already bike-friendly European countries. 

🔘  It’s been hot in NYC this summer—as much as 13° hotter—thanks to the urban heat island effect. 

🔘  Speaking of heat, car-dependent streets make heat waves worse.

🔘  Governor Hochul’s illegal congestion pricing pause is especially harmful for people with disabilities.

🔘  Which is all the more infuriating, because congestion pricing is sound public health policy.

🔘  And critics of congestion pricing usually come around to supporting it.

🔘  On a more hopeful note, Paris continues to offer valuable lessons for turning car-centric neighborhoods like the UWS into more livable places. 

Happenings in and around Local Streets

🥙  Vegan Night Market at Columbus Circle, 8/13 – Stop by for over 150 plant-based eats – every Tuesday through October 15th at Columbus Circle and Central Park South. Open from 2 PM to 9 PM.

🚲  Manhattan Summer Streets, 8/17 – Walk, run, ride, and enjoy car-free streets from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to 125th Street. Starting at 7 AM and going until 3 PM. 

🎥  Movie Night a the Amsterdam Ave Open Street, 8/24 – The W111th Block Association and the Columbus-Amsterdam BID host a screening of West Side Story on the street at 110th and Amsterdam. Festivities at 7 PM, movie starts at 8 PM.

Pass it On

“We don’t want to convey the idea that trees pollute the air. It’s the cars.”

–Dandan Wei, of the Columbia Climate School, explaining to the Post that NYC having lots of trees is good, actually. It's all those cars that are bad.  

377 Broadway, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10013

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