Feeling claustrophobic in University housing? On Friday, a group of students took their dorm room to the streets.
Students and other participants took over 50 parking spots in New York City—transforming them into functional “public spaces”—as part of the fourth annual Park(ing) Day NYC.
They brought the green message to Morningside Heights throughout the day, in some cases even transforming a parking spot into a fully stocked dorm room.
“Parking and cars take up too much space, especially in Manhattan, where three-fourths of the people don’t own a car,” said Josef Szende, a Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation alumnus. “Parking spots move us away from each other.”
The event, founded by San Francisco-based arts collective Rebar in 2005, was brought to New York City by the nonprofit Transportation Alternatives four years ago. Aiming to promote city residents’ connections with and uses of urban public space, participants in this year’s Park(ing) Day reclaimed spots in over 140 cities and 21 countries.
“It’s a fun way to advocate for safer cities for cyclists,” Claire Fram, BC ’11, said from the “EcoRespite” stop in front of the Barnard gates. “It gives people the chance to enjoy the green space,” she added of the flower- and vine-filled site.
Students added personal touches to the transformation of their parking spots in Morningside Heights, and a group from GSAPP recreated an entire dorm room on 113th Street and Broadway.
“A parking space isn’t that much smaller than an apartment, so we wanted to make a dorm room,” Szende said. “We thought we were going to be crammed in, but everything fit in nicely.”
The group’s spot included a bed, a table, chairs, a bulletin board, and a TV—with room to spare.
Other groups participating in the takeover invited pedestrians into their spaces, offering places to sit, eat meals, and play games.
“One of the great things it does is attract other people who are interested in green projects. It’s a way for our community to care about the environment, and it creates a collaboration that gets to happen in this space,” Fram said of the Barnard EcoReps’ “EcoRespite” space.
Some participants had different goals in mind. Resident advisers from Cathedral Gardens, a Barnard dorm, used Park(ing) Day for their first floor event of the year.
“We just decided to have our first event out here to meet residents from the hall. It makes us visible to students,” Bridgit Donnelly, BC ’11, said. “It was more about building community.”
Passersby had mixed reviews.
“If all the cars weren’t parking here, the space would just be used for something else—not park space,” Louis Smith, CC ’13, said.
To Isabel Lopez, CC ’13, the takeover was just annoying.
“As someone who has driven and has had to look for parking spots, it is kind of inconsiderate taking over parking spots since they are difficult to find here,” she said. “They could have set up next to a parking spot.”
Participants, though, said that the project makes an important statement.
“It’s always a memorable event,” Fram said. “People will remember that the EcoReps sat in the street today.”
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