Our work at NYC Plazas
August 2012.
July 2012
Pedestrian plazas have long been a common feature of European cities. Here in NYC, they began appearing in greater numbers starting around 2008, organized by community-based groups with the help of NYC DOT’s Plaza Program. And contrary to what many people may think, most are not in high-traffic, tourist areas of Manhattan, but in the transit and shopping hubs of neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
Plazas are of special significance to the city’s low income and immigrant communities. In many cases, they offer much-needed physical open space for simply sitting and watching people go by. And they also offer symbolic space that can contain a community’s aspirations, and instill pride. These are the new centers of New York City, and we should pay attention to what happens in them.
Below is a look at some of our recent work in NYC Plazas. If you are a community group working on a plaza, contact us!
Blog posts about our work at NYC Plazas:
Uni Project expands partnership with NYC DOT to serve more plazas this fall
During 2017, the Uni Project and NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) have teamed up to offer Uni reading rooms at “Weekend Walks” across the city. Initial funding for the partnership came from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, and we are now on pace to offer nearly...
Catch the Uni every Wednesday at Putnam Triangle in Brooklyn
In July and August the Uni lands at one of our favorite plazas, Putnam Triangle in Clinton Hill, hosted by our friends at Fulton Area Business Alliance. Every Wednesday 3-6pm we're offering a portable reading room, drawing activities, and two of our best Uni staff,...
The Uni at Morrison Ave Plaza in the Bronx
On three Mondays in June, the Uni transformed Morrison Ave Plaza in Soundview, the Bronx, into a place for the community to gather, read, and draw. Our host was Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, and our partner was the nearby Clason’s Point branch of the New...
READ and DRAW come out in support of a One Day Plaza
Friends of Stryker Park is committed to transforming the north side of 97th St between Columbus and Amsterdam into a greener, safer public space. The Uni Project teamed up with NYC DOT to help create a One Day Plaza to help demonstrate and build support for this...
Uni joins One Day Plaza event on the border of Brooklyn and Queens.
On April 30, the Uni landed at the intersection of Wyckoff and Myrtle Avenues, joining an event demonstrating what a permanent pedestrian plaza would be like at this location. The event was hosted by the Myrtle Ave BID and Ridgewood Local Development Corporation in...
Uni helps inaugurate new pedestrian plaza in Brooklyn
The Uni helped the Kensington community celebrate a new pedestrian plaza in their neighborhood at a NYC DOT One-Day Plaza event at Avenue C in Brooklyn. Our hosts were the Kensington Stewards and the Neighborhood Plaza Partnership. It was extraordinarily cold and...