DOT

Paint a Parking Lot, Put up a Paradise

By Aaron Naparstek

6:38 PM EDT on August 9, 2007

New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan unveiled DOT’s new Plaza Initiative in DUMBO, Brooklyn today. The press conference took place at the Pearl Street Plaza, a triangular pocket park that only a few weeks ago served as a parking lot and illegal dump. This afternoon the Plaza was filled with people eating lunch, taking meetings and sitting and relaxing in the midst of planters, benches, shaded cafe tables and sculptures by local artists. The Plaza is bounded by bench-sized granite blocks and its asphalt floor is painted green. City Room has some details from the DOT press release. The entire Streets Renaissance crew was there so we’ll have more photos and reporting tomorrow and, of course, a StreetFilm as well.

How about that bench? If there has ever been a nicer piece of New York City street furniture, I haven’t seen it.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.