Summer 2009 e-newsletter
In this issue…
Allen & Pike Street Renovation Plan: Approved!
New Design High School Summer Design Sessions
HSC News & Upcoming Events
HESTER STREET PLAYGROUND GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY
Thursday, August 6, 2009 11:00 AM
Sara D. Roosevelt
Park (Hester S btwn Forsyth & Chrystie St)
Join HSC for the official Parks Department Groundbreaking Ceremony for the reconstruction of the Hester Street Playground. The new plan for this neighborhood space was developed using input from HSC visioning processes with local residents in and around the park. Mosaic blocks created by youth in HSC’s Ground Up program to be installed in the new playground walls will be on view!
PEOPLE MAKE PARKS INITIATIVE featured in URBAN OMNIBUS
The People Make Parks Initiative is moving closer to its goal of bringing communities and the Parks Department together with tools and strategies for the participatory design of parks and public spaces. Check out the recent profile of the PMP Initiative in Urban Omnibus, featuring a dialogue between Anoo Siddiqi of HSC and Hillary Angelo of Partnerships for Parks.
O.U.R. WATERFRONT:
Release of the "People’s Plan" this September HSC and the O.U.R. Waterfront Coalition have held town hall meetings and waterfront visioning events to gather community input and ensure that development along the East River Waterfront serves the needs of the diverse communities who live closest to it. This input has been gathered into a “People’s Plan,” which will be released this coming fall. Stay tuned for more information about this important community vision!
Allen & Pike Street Renovation Plan: Approved!
The redesign plan for the transformation of the Allen & Pike Street Pedestrian Malls into a multi-use neighborhood green space created by the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation has been approved by Community Board 3 and will move forward as early as this coming fall.
For over a year, HSC and the UNRAP Coalition have been working to ensure that the community’s vision for the renovation of the Allen & Pike Street Malls into a community space that meets their safety and open space needs could become a reality. The NYC Parks Department and the NYC DOT have worked diligently to incorporate the community needs for the malls summarized in UNRAP’s community visioning report, and have produced a plan for the malls that will transform this neglected public space into a vibrant and active community park.
On July 27th, the Parks Department was given the opportunity to present their final plan at the monthly meeting of Community Board 3. Many members of the UNRAP Coalition and concerned community members also attended to voice their support for the plan. The full board approved the plan in a final vote, which will allow the plans to move forward toward becoming a reality.
HSC Citizen Designers
This summer, 6 high school & college students have joined HSC in our office and at our project sites. They are learning the fundamentals of design & community visioning, and are trying their hands at just about everything HSC is currently working on. The Citizen Designers wanted to share their own account of their internship experiences at HSC so far: read on to hear about their summer!
On Monday, July 6th, 4 students began our internships at Hester Street Collaborative through the Citizen Designer Internship program. From the start there were a myriad of interesting projects for us to work on. First, we had to become familiar with the neighborhood, so Dylan took us on a walking tour of the community and explained the various projects HSC would be working on in the nearby parks and schools. All of the different projects excited us and we couldn’t wait to get started.
One of our biggest projects has been going to the P.S. 134 community garden, which is one of HSC’s major sites for educational projects during the year. We have been keeping it clean, watering the plants, and changing up signs to attract people in the community to come during the open hours and help us in the garden. The majority of the plants are growing well and producing fruit and vegetables that people can pick and take home to eat. Sadie, one of HSC’s college interns, says that she "finds working in the garden to be very therapeutic. I wasn’t a big gardener before working at Hester Street, but I’m pretty taken with it now." Another big project has been working with the students from New Design High School, who were in a summer session of HSC’s "Ground Up" design-education program as part of their credit recovery program. George, one of our high school interns, said, “Working with the New Design students was fun and challenging. I liked making the models to help them." We made prototypes of each step of the students’ process, including models, detailed drawings, plans, and elevations of a future student housing complex at their high school. On the last day of the program, the students each presented their work to the rest of the group and received credit for their classes.
In addition to all of this, our intern group has also been involved in some ongoing projects. We’ve started working on improving the HSC workshop, and are planning to paint a map of the Lower East Side on the floor. Another focus has been putting the finishing touches on the mosaic tiles made by the students at M.S. 131 to ultimately be built into the walls of Sara D. Roosevelt Park.
We also hope that we can encourage more community members to come to the community garden during open hours. For more information about our internship experience at HSC this summer, visit www.hesterstreetcollaborative.blogspot.com.
The P.S. 134 Garden is growing!
This year, 6 classes at P.S. 134 joined HSC in designing & improving elements of the garden through the Ground Up program, and many others came out to get their hands dirty on community wide Dirt Days. Together this year, HSC & P.S. 134 students and teachers designed and installed garden signage, built compost and worm bins, installed chalkboards to turn the garden shed into an outdoor teaching too, and grew more flowers and vegetables than ever before!
In an end-of-year Garden Celebration, HSC gave Ground Up students and teachers the chance to showcase their work, release ladybugs in the garden, eat healthy snacks, and enjoy a space they helped create. Students made presentations to the school and community about their projects this year, and Councilmember Alan Gerson, a garden supporter, and commended students, teachers, and HSC on the
garden’s important community presence.
Following on this successful year, HSC is continuing to expand its positive influence in the community. For the first time, HSC has established "Summer Open Hours" for the Garden. This summer from 1-4 pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, students and community members are all welcome to join HSC staff and interns in the garden to help with cleanup, construction, gardening, or to simply relax and enjoy this unique neighborhood green space.
The pilot season of open hours will run for only a few more weeks, so stop by and see us this month!
New Design High School Students spend the summer designing with HSC
This past July, students from New Design High School came to HSC to participate in a summer session of Ground Up, as part of their summer credit recovery program. These students investigated public space and design issues in the Lower East Side through walking tours, photography, design sketches, and scaled model making. They paid special attention to SPURA (Seward Park Urban Renewal Area) and the proposed construction of housing for at-risk students there called New Design House.
Their final proposed site and building models were presented at the end of their two-week program to a panel of local architects, educators, and HSC staff.