Open Call for Public Plazas
Posted by Carol Coletta on April 15, 2010
If it works for NYC's Department of Transportation, why can't it work in other cities for other projects?
NYC is inviting nonprofit organizations to respond to an RFP to create neighborhood plazas for the city. The trick is that the nonprofit must agree to operate and maintain the space. That seems like a reasonable bargain.
"This Program is a key part of the City's effort to ensure that all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of quality open space.
"The NYC Plaza Program will re-invent New York City's public realm. In New York City, the public right of way comprises 64 square miles of land-that is enough space to fit about 50 Central Parks. The Program will re-claim streets at appropriate locations to make new plazas. Sites will be selected based on the following criteria: Open Space, Community Initiative, Site Context, Organizational & Maintenance Capacity, and Income Eligibility. Eligible not-for-profit organizations can propose new plaza sites for their neighborhoods through a competitive application process. The City will prioritize sites that are in neighborhoods that lack open space, and will look to partner with community groups that commit to operate, maintain, and manage these spaces so they are vibrant pedestrian plazas." It's another invention of the amazing DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn who is a presenter at the upcoming CEOs for Cities meeting in NYC next week. She proves every day that with imagination and determination, change can happen quickly in cities.