Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Park(ing) Day

Shakespeare In The Park(ing) Spot

1:34 PM EDT on September 16, 2011

In New York City, some of the most active participants in Park(ing) Day, the celebration of on-street public space, are students. The largest street reclamation I saw today was put on by Fordham undergraduates, who converted what looked like three parking spaces into a stage and auditorium for a day of Shakespeare In The Parking Spot.

Set up as a collaboration between architecture and theater students, elaborate cardboard structures provided seating as actors staged scenes and soliloquies above the din of Columbus Avenue traffic. Signs like "To Park or Not To Park?" added a bit of extra wit to the event, though I was disappointed not to see any play on Lady Macbeth's "Out Damned Spot" monologue.

Further uptown, Columbia's urban planning students compared the area of a parking space to the area of a fire escape, arguing that both were underutilized urban spaces. They created their own fire escape on the side of Broadway, complete with clothesline and urban agriculture.

Barnard's Eco-Reps drew their Park(ing) Day inspiration from the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. After the storm passed, they gathered the branches and stumps left where trees had been damaged and imagined their campus as a camp site. Sitting on those logs this morning, they made s'mores on the side of the road while handing out environmental information to passersby.

Thanks for reading!

Register or log in to continue.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

MAP QUEST: See Exactly Why Sammy’s Law Would Be So Crucial for the Boroughs

Ironically, one of the most dangerous roadways — East Gun Hill Road — is in the district of the Assembly Speaker who reportedly opposes Sammy's Law.

June 8, 2023

Welcome to Streetsblog’s New Website!

You can spend all day clicking around on our glistening new website. Get started here!

June 8, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines: Don’t Look Up Edition

The big and only story yesterday was the end-of-days feel that blanketed the city all day. Plus, someone has to defend Sarah Meyer!

Hunger Strike Day 2: Gov. Hochul is ‘Sympathetic,’ But Won’t Pressure Heastie on Sammy’s Law

The governor expressed sympathy for the mothers who are holding a hunger strike to protest the Assembly’s inaction on Sammy’s Law — but she declined to condemn the body's leader, Speaker Carl Heastie.

June 7, 2023

The Fires This Time: There is No Plan to Limit Driving During Health Emergencies Like This One

City officials admitted on Wednesday that they have no plan to deal with pollution like the city is experiencing today — not even an emergency health protocol to require mandatory carpooling.

June 7, 2023
See all posts