Four graduate students played cards while comfortably lounging on an AstroTurf rug surrounded by pinecones and a small fir tree in a parking space behind Sixth Avenue on Friday afternoon. Their little park was one of 30 that occupied parking spaces throughout New York City on PARK(ing) Day.
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The first PARK(ing) project began in 2005 when public art and design studio Rebar set up a mini-park in a metered parking spot in San Francisco. Since then, social activists, urban planners, artists and neighborhood organizations in over 130 cities around the world annually observe PARK(ing) Day by temporarily transforming parking spots into public spaces.
Transportation Alternatives, one of the NYC PARK(ing) Day organizers, files permits for interested parties to occupy a parking space of the parties' choice.
Gallatin senior Mike Sandmel and CAS senior Kayla Santosuosso, who work in the NYU office of sustainability, occupied a PARK(ing) space across the street from Weinstein Hall. Complete with chairs, plants, tables and free bike repairs, they discussed urban greening initiatives with interested passersby.
"We participate in an admirable city-wide initiative to start thinking in newer and creative ways about urban space, parks, sustainability and green space in the city," Sandmel said. "It's also a terrific outreach opportunity to start talking about things we are doing at NYU."
Though Sandmel said it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of a particular PARK(ing) Day, Jen Petersen, an NYU sociology Ph.D. candidate, sees its long-term impact.
"Students are always amazed by the power of demonstration they generate for themselves simply by behaving differently in an old, familiar place," she said. "In 2007, when Transportation Alternatives and the New York City Streets Renaissance campaign organized New York City's first PARK(ing) Day, we had precisely two street-converted pedestrian plazas in the whole city."
Some groups choose to simply focus on the public space in their neighborhood. In Park Slope, Park Slope Neighbors set up their PARK(ing) Day space to draw the neighbors' attention.
"We wanted to get out and reclaim the asphalt for the people for a few hours this afternoon," society co-founder Eric McClure said. "Nearby, the school P.S. 321 lets out [at] about 3 o'clock, so hopefully we will get some kids to come by and spend time with us and ask about what we're doing."
According to Wagner School of Public Service urban planning professor Andrew Mondschein, small, well-kept parks are essential in urban neighborhoods.
"That's where people can meet with friends, let their children play or simply take a break from their hectic lives in a pleasant environment," he said.
Since July, Park Chelsea, a neighborhood parks project, has created and maintained their own micro-park and hopes to celebrate PARK(ing) Day every day with "a seat on every street."
According to Arnold Bob, who works with Park Chelsea, the group hopes to fund about 100 micro-parks in Chelsea.
"The primary goal of Park Chelsea's community gardens is to create community," he said. "It's created a great deal of community spirit between neighbors on our block and neighbors farther away too."
