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

Shakespeare In The Park(ing) Spot

1:34 PM EDT on September 16, 2011

Fordham actors play out the thrilling conclusion of a Shakespearean tragedy, just blocks away from Lincoln Center. Photo: Noah Kazis.

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.

Architecture students made an impressive stage for Fordham's Shakespeare in the Parking Spot. Photo: Noah Kazis.

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.

caption

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 host a curbside campfire. Photo: Noah Kazis.

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.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Can We Just Keep Cars Off the Queensbridge Baby Greenway?

Why do we allow car drivers to park on greenways, in parks and on tree beds?

March 29, 2024

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024
See all posts