Boulevard 41 Could Provide Pedestrian-Friendly Connection Between Broadway and Bryant Park
Boulevard 41 would connect Bryant Park with pedestrian plazas on Broadway. (Courtesy Google Maps)
In New York these days, pedestrian plazas keep sprouting up in different pockets around Midtown Manhattan, an area known more for its heavily trafficked avenues and streets than its pedestrian-friendly corridors. And now, The New York Times reported that business owners along West 41st Street are pushing for their block, stretching from Broadway to Bryant Park, to be transformed into a tree-lined plaza, dotted with tables and seats. The street will stay open to traffic, but parking would be eliminated to make room for the promenade connecting Bryant Park with Snøhetta’s now-under-construction revamp of the Times Square pedestrian plaza.
Wally Rubin, District Manager of Community Board 5, told AN that the transportation and environment committee voted last Thursday to recommend approval of the plan, dubbed “Boulevard 41,” which will then go in front of the full board for a final vote on April 11th. If the Department of Transportation then green lights the proposal, the plaza could open as soon as this summer.
Foster’s Exterior Changes Green-Lighted at the New York Public Library
Rendering of Foster + Partners’ proposed renovation of the New York Public Library. (Courtesy Foster+Partners / dbox)
Preservationists who have waged a battle against Foster + Partners’ planned renovations of the New York Public Library received bad news Tuesday: The Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the library’s application for changes to its Beaux-Arts exterior, mostly on the side facing Bryant Park, in a six-to-two vote.
The $300 million renovation calls for removing seven floors of stacks beneath the famous Rose Main Reading Room to accommodate a large workspace and the collections from the Mid-Manhattan and the Innovative Science, Industry, and Business Libraries. This might be a major step forward for the library, but the approval process is not yet over. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Landmarks Commission can only vote on changes proposed to the landmarked exterior—the decision about the stacks is out of their hands.
Visit the Haunted iMuseum
The Museum of the Phantom City in Action. (Courtesy Cheng + Snyder)
Perhaps it’s just a reflection of the post-bubble zeitgeist, but there’s been much ado lately about the Museum of the Phantom City app for the iPhone, from BLDG BLOG to Urban Omnibus all the way up to the Times. Admittedly, who doesn’t love a nice iPhone app (not that we would know personally…) especially one that allows you to navigate the city that could have been—at least if architect’s ruled the world—in real time and space. Developed by the two-man firm of Cheng+Snyder as part of the Van Alen Institute’s New York Prize fellowship, the app uses the phone as a tracker to pinpoint unrealized projects, usually of a highly theoretical persuasion—John Johansen’s Leapfrog Housing, Michael Sorkin’s Brooklyn Waterfront, THINK’s World Trade Center proposal. If this all sounds terribly confusing, either download the app yourself, or better yet, meet up with Chen and Snyder in Bryant Park from 2:00-4:00 on the phantasmagorically appropriate day of October 31, where they’ll give a full tour of the museum, so to speak.
The Porch That Swings
The Southwest Porch at Bryant Park, a summer-long lounge sponsored by Southwest Airlines, officially opens next week and will offer small dishes and cocktails provided by Tom Colicchio’s ‘wichcraft. Designed by Nancy Thiel, principal of Thiel Architecture + Design, the Porch includes adirondack chairs, porch swings, and enclosed sings that resemble birdhouses, under a pergola. Read More
Ciao, Bryant Park
Fashion Week is abandoning Bryant Park for Diller Scofidio + Renfro's newly redesigned Lincoln Center, specifically Damrosch Park, which can be seen in the upper left hand corner. (Courtesy Playbill)
The AP first reported last night, and the mayor confirmed it earlier today: Fashion Week is departing Bryant Park for Lincoln Center. But not just any Lincoln Center. The new-and-improved, Diller Scofidio + Renfro-approved Lincoln Center. According to Bloomberg–in this case, we mean both the mayor and his eponymous news service, via the latter link above–the festivities will take place at the center’s Damrosch Park. Read More
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