Tomorrow is Park(ing) Day! There are over 50 amazing spaces throughout all 5 boroughs of New York City and we suggest you take a short walk during your busy work day and enjoy a Park(ing) Spot near you!
As part of our series highlighting Park(ing) Day NYC organizers we spoke with Josef Szende an Urban Planning student at Columbia, an active member of the Manhattan Young Democrats and a long time Transportation Alternatives supporter. He helped create two Park(ing) Spots last year surrounding environmental issues such as open space and sustainable transportation. This year he is helping organize a political forum on transportation in a Park(ing) Spot through the Manhattan Young Democrats (Broadway and 93rd Street, Manhattan). And he is also working with other students in Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation to create a dorm room in a Park(ing) Spot. Amazing! We had the opportunity to ask this very busy urban planner and livable streets activist about his experience with Park(ing) Days past.
Park(ing) Day NYC: What do you enjoy most about Park(ing) Day?
Josef Szende: I love so many things about Park(ing) Day. Teaching people about America’s vast parking epidemic is wonderful but I think the greatest joy of Park(ing) Day is bringing people together to make a Park(ing) spot.
PDNYC:How has Park(ing) Day helped promote Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and local issues in New York?
Left: Josef Szende being interview on Park(ing) Day 2009
JS: The timing of Park(ing) Day is great for the urban planning school year. For two years in a row we have brought together 2nd year planners and architecture students to design and build Park(ing) Spots. Both years it has served as an excellent introduction to a key lesson of urban planning: we give over too much space to cars both when they are moving and especially when they are parked. Students interested in parking or (more likely) in public space can go on to research this more during their degree.
PDNYC: Do you have any stories or memorable events from Park(ing) Day 2009?
JS: Getting on to the news with New York 1 was really amazing. They only took a short clip of me explaining Park(ing) Day and they really featured one of our spots which was great: Park(ing) Space becomes Public Place The other great thing was how people just walked up to us and started talking about transportation and cars. No matter what their opinion, the conversation is welcome and critically important to the future of the city. Even if people walk up and they seem to be very pro-car, a brand new park right in your backyard is pretty hard to argue with!
PDNYC: Has Park(ing) Day changed your view of what public space is and can be in New York City?
JS: Yes. I think it has such far-reaching potential. New York was made for Park(ing) Day. The city has truly dense and diverse uses of its streets, which are very contentious. There is no better vantage point than an on-street Park(ing) Spot for provoking debate about what can and should be in the street. It pushes us even further to consider the entire area from one row of buildings to another as a space that we don’t have to travel through but can actually stop in and enjoy. Maybe we need a new word to name these places instead of “streets”? What about Bleeker Space or Amsterdam Area?
Right: Columbia Students create green space for Park(ing) Day 2009
PDNYC: Can you tell us a bit about the spaces you’ll be creating in Morningside Heights for Park(ing) Day NYC 2010?
JS: This year we have been wondering: can you fit an entire dorm room into a parking spot? We think so. We’ll be at 113th and Broadway with a bed, desk, chairs, and a bulletin board, and we are pretty sure they’re all going to fit in there nicely. We’ll also be creating instant college memories for passers-by where we’ll take their picture and pin it up with their caption of what they would rather use a parking spot for (of course, no cars allowed!).
PDNYC: What advice can you give new Park(ing) Spot hosts?
JS: Meet as early as you can - beginning of August is a good time. I’d say it’s also nice to have a bit of a diverse team. Though not necessary, it’s really nice to have at least one person who is handy with tools and stuff. Outgoing and friendly people are really important on Park(ing) Day itself. At the end of the day any group of people can pull off an amazing Park(ing) Day spot! In terms of designing it, the more creative it is, the better. I loved last years’ Park(ing) Pit. Parks are about play and so is Park(ing) Day. We forgot to take enough photos, so please remember to do that!
PDNYC: Why do you think people should host a Park(ing) Spot?
JS: It is pure joy. Everything about it is enjoyable: thinking of crazy Park(ing) ideas with friends, gathering or building whatever materials are necessary, and being outside all day on the streets of New York. It is just so much fun.
Upper West Siders be sure to stop by and get a snap shot of your custom designed dorm at P.A.R.K (Pick A Room, Kid) on Broadway and 113th Avenue in Manhattan!
By Abenson on September 16th, 2010.
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By jday on October 1st, 2009.
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