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HOME  BLOG When Bad Things Happen to Good Parks
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When Bad Things Happen to Good Parks |
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Written by Scott Silver
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Wednesday, 22 September 2004 |
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Let's try something different.
Normally I find an article I think you'll will find of interest and write a short introduction to accompany it. Immediately below my name you'll find a article from the September 2004 newsletter of Project for Public Spaces (PPS). Pasted BELOW that you'll find a link to my introduction. It shared that intro with many of you several years ago when I first warned that a problem was developing. I keyed that intro to another PPS article... one written in 2002.
Perhaps now knowing how things have turned out at Bryant park will strengthen the warning I gave for our federally managed public spaces.
Perhaps now knowing how things turned out at Bryant park will allow us to prevent the same things from happening elsewhere.
Scott
--- begin quoted ---
When Bad Things Happen to Good Parks
New York's Bryant Park, a tremendous comeback story, is endangered again this time by encroaching privatization.
By Ethan Kent
"This is a private park." That's what PPS photographer Ethan Kent was
told while taking pictures of Bryant Park during a heavily guarded
political event last month. A security guard used this rationale to
explain his previous command: "You have to keep moving. You are not
allowed to stand in one place."
Bryant Park, which was transformed from a frightening open-air drug
market in the 1980s into a vibrant place for everyone, may be the
closest thing to a town square in New York City. But it is increasingly
off-limits to the citizens of the city -- only now instead of drug
dealers, it is VIP events keeping us out. With events like this private
political gala and the twice-yearly invitation-only Fashion Week
occupying an ever-larger section of the lawn, it seems the park is
being stripped of its role as an inclusive center of civic life.
That's why PPS has added Bryant Park to the Hall of Shame section of
our Great Public Spaces website until its role as a public commons is
restored. Are the financial gains of privatization really necessary to
effectively operate and maintain the park?
Indeed, almost all the activities in Bryant Park are now paying
activities. There are no educational exhibits, even though the park is
located in the backyard of the New York Public Library. There is no
play area for children. There is no public art. Even the park
concessions seem to serve less of a public function. The snack bar
kiosks, which were once operated by independent local businesses, are
now chain operations whose real purpose seems to be providing corporate
advertising on one of the most visible corners in New York City.
Are the financial gains of privatization really necessary to
effectively operate and maintain the park? Bryant Park already
generates as much revenue as any other park of its size, yet it
continues to sell itself as a venue for events that directly conflict
with its role as a public park. Almost all other privately managed
civic squares in the U.S. and Europe either do not allow private events
or ensure that the impact of such events remains negligible. Portland,
Oregon's Pioneer Courthouse Square, which hosts about 300 events
annually, sets aside only two days each year for private events (and
these events are fundraisers to support public institutions).
Few guests at Fashion Week may remember the time when Bryant Park was a
spot New Yorkers took care to avoid. Only after years of hard work did
the park become the beloved place that it is today. During its
reclamation, who could have anticipated that the park's success would
one day bring a new threat in the form of encroaching privatization?
Every time a private event is allowed to take precedence over public
use of Bryant Park, it is a discouraging sign to people who are trying
to turn around public spaces in their communities. Once they succeed,
will their efforts also be hijacked by private interests a few years
down the road?
So instead of letting Fashion Week usurp large swaths of Bryant Park
for months out of each year (not just the Fashion Weeks themselves, but
much of the weeks before and after as well), why not stage a public
fashion show showcasing the creativity of local designers? Or how about
a flower show in the spring, and a high quality weekly art market, and
special daytime events for children in New York's public schools? By
exploring new ways to better serve the public, Bryant Park can regain
its civic importance to New York and reclaim its title as a great
public place.
LINK TO INTRODUCTION
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