Description: Hundreds of people walk, run, and bike on Union Square East, leading north to Park Avenue South, which here is turned into an Open Street. Greenery and mixed use buildings surround the avenue.

SHARED SPACES

SHARED SOLUTIONS

New York City is not doing enough to create and maintain equitable public spaces.

Let’s change that.

HERE'S HOW

Description: Surrounded by tall trees, fresh air, open sky, and space to move, many families and neighbors of all ages enjoy an afternoon on the 34th Avenue Open Streets in Queens. Some walk and bike on the street (normally used by vehicles) and sid

Currently, multiple agencies are accountable for managing New York City’s public realm. Functionally, this creates a lack of coordination that results in missed opportunities. Each agency or department works within their own silos, unable to build upon each other’s work and develop multiple public benefits. This isolation creates conflicts for determining who is responsible for maintenance and design, and exacerbates inconsistencies and inequities. Most importantly, this has profound real-world impacts on public space and vulnerable communities throughout the city.

Description: Parkgoers walk through Bethesda Terrace in Manhattan’s Central Park. The nineteenth-century two-level terrace is centered by a large fountain with a bronze statue of an angel. The southern edge of the park’s lake surrounds the terrace, a — *Source: Flickr, John Cunniff*

Description: Hundreds of people gather in Manhattan’s tree-filled Bryant Park, on and around the large grass area in the center. Seating and umbrellas maintained by a non-profit surround the green.Tall buildings surround the park, impacting sunlight — *Source: Project for Public Space*

We need a new way to integrate our thinking on these critical areas. Our public spaces are better when we think about them together. APSL proposed creating a new Office of the Public Realm that would have a role in decision-making around public works projects, maintenance of the public realm, and the design and function of public space. We enthusiastically support the Mayor’s announcement to create this critical position. New York needs this citywide facilitation to foster effective coordination, allowing individual departments and agencies to do their best work to ensure we all have equitable access to space and resources.

“When walking down a New York City street, the average person doesn’t experience public space in terms of jurisdiction. But, unfortunately, that is the approach historically taken when planning and building the public realm.”

— Mitchell Silver, Former NYC Parks Commissioner

What is the “public realm”?

The public realm in the broadest sense encompasses all publicly accessible exterior spaces. Composed of streets, sidewalks, parks, plaza, waterfronts, natural areas, and more, this system of public spaces represent roughly 40 percent of the city’s land mass.

Open space is a more narrowly defined term for publicly accessible parks, playgrounds, waterfronts, and plazas used primarily for leisure, play, or sport, or that is set aside for the protection and enhancement of the natural environment.

LEARN MORE

Photo Acknowledgments

Open Streets Union Square | Source: Flickr, New York City Department of Transportation
A kiss in Bryant Park | Source: Project for Public Spaces
People Walking on 34th Avenue Open Streets | Source: Open Plans, Modifications: Photo Flipped