Kristen V. Brown

Park(ing) Day

Last Friday Park(ing) Day NYC had New Yorkers looking for a place to park themselves along with grass, trees, benches and public art instead of their cars.

Park(ing) Day, the international event, which reclaims over 200 parking spots in 50 cities around the world and transforms them into public spaces for one day a year set up shop at 53 different locations in four boroughs, including three different locations in the Williamsburg area.

As New Yorkers we get a little too fixed in the notion that cars are in the street all the time, when in reality it’s public space chosen to use in one particular way, said Wiley Norvell, the communications director for Transportation Alternatives, who hosted the event in conjunction with NYC Streets Renaissance, the Trust for Public Land and the Open Planning Project. Park(ing) Day sort of jars us out of that complacency. It makes folks consider why isn’t this is a space for cars instead of a 200 square foot park or something like that.

The busiest site in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg area on the even busier corner of North Seventh and Bedford Avenue was a car-sized meditation spot set up by local artist and musician, Thomas Bell, 36. Passersby were welcomed into the space to enjoy peace and a little relaxation, complete with grass, sand, reflecting pools and a home-crafted sculptured garden that Bell was able to furnish with the help of a grant from the groups sponsoring the event.

I liked the juxtaposition of trying to meditate on the busiest corner in Williamsburg, said Bell. I wanted to give people a chance to relax in the middle of a hectic day whether they’re rushing to the subway or to work.
It makes me feel peaceful just looking at the grass, said Nora King, 45, an elementary school teacher in Williamsburg happening by the site on her way to work. I’m probably too self conscious to actually sit and meditate on Bedford Avenue, but we need more public space like this. I think they should block off the whole street.

Most passersby agreed that the vehicle-sized splashes of greenery were welcome change to the relatively treeless streets of Williamsburg. It’s just a really awesome statement about how we use space in our city, said Will Elkins, 24, who was running a space at North 10th and Bedford Avenue on behalf of the Buckminster Fuller Institute in Williamsburg. We should be questioning what we use our space for and I don’t think cars should be the top priority. Elkins used his space as a lounge area where anyone passing by could help construct kites modeled on design principals by the late architect Buckminster Fuller.

Local dance instructor Jessica Schultz, 28, used her space on North Fifth and Bedford Avenue to create a chill space for adults and a play area with a slide and jungle gym for kids. Other spaces around the city included a curbside break room with communal worktables and Wi-Fi at Columbus Circle and a tea garden at 8th Avenue and 15th Street in Manhattan.

Overall I’d say it was a smashing success, said Norvell. The whole thing was a pretty dramatic undertaking for New York City.