Paint a Parking Lot, Put Up a Paradise

In the Brooklyn DUMBO neighborhood the NYC Department of Transportation has launched the first of over thirty projects that will transform city streets over to public space uses.

What once was a triangle on Pearl Street for about two dozen car parking spots has become an oasis of green complete with chairs, tables, umbrellas and art. DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan called the space, "a new living room for the neighborhood." Although the subway can be a little clanky in the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge, we think that comment couldn't be more perfect.

The rapidity of the implementation of this project took even us by surprise, but with Mayor Bloomberg's push to put more green and open spaces within proximity of our abodes it's nice to see swift progress. So here are the dramatic befores, afters, and overheads that we are surely will cajole other neighborhoods to beg for living rooms in their communities. Of course, StreetFilms strongly encourages this behavior.

d

Good stuff. The video really shows how beneficial this stuff is to neighborhoods. Take away the dead space and you get something that's nice to look at, nice to be in, and that's good for business!
LL

Great video...that plaza really looks great.
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T & R

Nice film StreetFilms!
concernedcitizen

Nice idea to improve utilization of public land. A couple of concerns/questions: (1) who will maintain this space and at whose expense? (2) who decides which businesses operate on or nearby the space? (3) was any consideration given to other ways to utilize this space, e.g. auctioning the site with or without a covenant on its use (a covenant/easement could have been used to require its use as a public space)?
Nava

"They paved a parking lot to put up paradise.." heh

(With apologies to Joni Mitchell/Big Yellow Taxi)
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http://myadjustabledumbbells.com John

This video is great, really explains why this kind of stuff is so important for our neighbourhoods.
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