Our work at NYC Play Streets
Play streets are a tradition in New York City. They are exactly what they sound like—streets closed to traffic for play, usually during summer when school is closed. For a time, when we first began working at play streets in 2013, the number of play streets seemed to be growing in NYC, thanks to support from the city’s health department and work by Transportation Alternatives. However in recent years, we’ve witnessed the closing of many of the city’s summer play streets in favor of more structured and controlled environments. Others have noted this as well. And just like adults, children appear to be spending more of their free time at home in front of screens. Despite this, we want to continue to support play streets because we believe that city children need space for unstructured, spontaneous, voluntary play.
Photos of our work at NYC Play Streets:
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Uni Reading Room, East Harlem Play Street
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, E104th St, East Harlem, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, West Harlem Play Street
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, W136th St, West Harlem, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Jennings Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Jennings St, Bronx, NY, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Rivera Ave Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Rivera Ave, Bronx, NY, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Irving Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Irving Street, Brooklyn, NY, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Forest Ave Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Forest Ave, Bronx, NY, July and August, 2014.
Blog posts about our work at NYC Play Streets:
Building together at Smith Houses, NYCHA
The Uni Project brought our new program BUILD NYC to Alfred E. Smith Houses Family Day, in partnership with NYCHA’s Office of Resilience and Recovery. Thanks to Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and also NYC Council Member Margaret Chin for stopping...
BUILD NYC pops up at Bronx play street at NYCHA Butler Houses
We're in the midst of a month-long effort to bring opportunities for learning to NYC Play Streets hosted by the Police Athletic League (PAL). Today, our BUILD NYC program was a hit at Butler Houses, and we'll be back around next week! Our work at play...
Uni Project launches 2018 effort to bring playful learning opportunities to NYC Play Streets
Today, the Uni Project began a month-long series of pop-up installations at NYC Play Streets, and we brought our program BUILD with Lego and more to a play street at Butler Houses (NYCHA), hosted by the Police Athletic League (PAL). Since 1914, PAL has...
Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant
We're happy to announce that the Uni Project is a recipient of a 2018 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant. Four large boxes of outstanding books just arrived to our office and will become part of pop-up reading rooms that we create across...
How the Uni works at play streets in the Bronx
Today, we brought the Uni to a great play street in the Bronx run by Caldwell Programs. As I promised everyone last week, I brought along some new math puzzles today. Learn more about our ongoing effort at play...
Uni reaching kids and families at East Harlem farmers’ market and play street
All summer long, we make a special effort to reach kids in high-need neighborhoods, bringing our mix of reading, drawing, solving, and building opportunities right to the places where kids gather. For the third year in row, we're partnering with Harvest Home, the...