Tags: recreation

Urban Omnibus runs a feature on Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, a former civilian and military airport on the Jamaica Bay coast that became parkland in 1971.  The story’s contributing writer, a landscape architect, suggests that the site’s post-urban/natural hybrid landscape prefigured contemporary aesthetics in post-industrial redevelopment, and the range of activities it hosts help to reposition the idea of recreation, making the park a model for other sites in the City.

The New York City Department of Transportation has announced the winner of its reNEWable Times Square design competition, aimed to temporarily “refresh and revive” the streetscape of newly pedestrianized Times Square while plans for permanent reconstruction proceed (construction is slated for 1012). 

Quick on the heels of the springtime public opening of Pier 1, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation opened the Pier 6 section of the new park this past weekend.  The $55 million area features a 1.6-acre playground with a water play space, 21 swings, slides, a 6,000-square-foot sandbox, a marsh garden, a dog run and bikeway and pedestrian promenades. 

A new, 16,000 square foot skate park is now under construction near the 1964 World’s Fair site in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  In a subtle nod to the mash-up of architectural styles typical of many historic World’s Fairs, the course will feature elements inspired by popular street skating spots around New York City:

• Original Brooklyn Banks 9-stair replica rail
• Union Square rail/steps
• Police Plaza 7-stair rail/various stairs
• Ziegfeld ledge
• Chrystie Park ledge
• Exchange Place street gap
• JFK Banks
• Con Ed Banks
• Pyramid ledges
• Flushing Meadows Park ledge-over-the-grate replica
• Various rails in public parks and the aesthetics of many of the spots in Brooklyn

The course is being built in advance of the Maloof Money Cup, a skate competition that will be held June 5th and 6th; the competiion donated the course through the Parks Department’s Adopt-a-Park program.

The City of New York has just released a new publication and policy initiative called Active Design Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity and Health in Design.  The guidelines, which have been developed through an interagency effort in collaboration with professional and academic institutions, make simple and accessible recommendations about how design of built features in the City can and should address public health concerns related to obesity and physical activity. 

The City of New York has announced a $15 million project to clean up 38 acres of wetlands adjacent to the Paerdegat Basin Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Facility on Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn.  According to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the project–slated for completion in 2012–will begin this Spring to improve water quality in the Paerdegat Basin by re-introducing native plants to the salt marsh and grassland habitats.

Landscape architecture and urban design firm James Corner Field Operations has prepared three new design proposals re-imagining Cleveland’s Public Square.  The downtown park is bisected by two roads and perceived, in its current state, as a dead zone between skyscrapers. 

The first phase of development is underway for 1,347-acre brownfield transformation project Orange County Great Park.  $65.5 million will fund the expansion of a 27.5-acre “Preview Park,” which opened in 2008 and features an observation balloon providing visitors a high-flying view of the entire site. 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-HuSOeDUH4&w=507&h=370]

According to the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), biking in New York City has increased by 26% in 2009.  This is following a 35% increase in 2008 and corresponds with 200 miles of new striped or separated bike routes developed over the past three years. 

Hey! I’m Walkin’ Here! presents another Staten Island group walk tomorrow, Saturday, November 7th, roaming 15 miles of the island’s south shore.  Lots of beach walking and some rock scrambling involved; dress for the temperature and wear sturdy shoes. Participation is free, and Saturday’s walk will start with a meetup underneath the first S in the Staten Island Ferry sign outside the Staten Island Ferry Terminal in Manhattan at 8:45 am.

The New York Times runs down recent initiatives aimed at making New York City parks more accessible and accommodating to immigrants.  These efforts have been accelerating as a result of the city’s language-access plan and a report from New Yorkers for Parks called Parks for All New Yorkers: Immigrants, Culture and NYC Parks. 

Last week, the Parks Department’s Freshkills Park team and Staten Island Urban Park Rangers took a canoe trip through the site’s creeks and wetlands.  We put in at “The Point,” near the Isle of Meadows, and headed east through Fresh Kills Creek to Main Creek, where we got up close and personal with the William T.

A volunteer coordinator from Transportation Alternatives and Staten Island bike advocates will be leading a ride around the borough tomorrow morning, October 10th, ending at Lee’s Tavern in Dongan Hills.  The group will be “discussing the current challenges facing cyclist, pedestrian and mass transit users in Staten Island, and developing some advocacy plans for the future.” 

Hey! I’m Walkin’ Here! is a series of long group walks exploring various parts of the five boroughs.  Tomorrow’s 20-mile exploration of Staten Island will be the group’s 41st walk and its fifth on the Island.  Their flickr stream of photos from previous walks is pretty excellent. 

A number of new technology-based parks applications have come online recently: Park Scan allows San Francisco park visitors to report maintenance issues to relevant city officials and to track prior reports; Off Leash is an iPhone app that directs users to the nearest off-leash dog park; The Hidden Park, also for the iPhone, leads kids through site-wide scavenger hunts of ten major world parks, including Central Park. 

There are a handful of skate parks built from recycled materials these days, but generally, these massive concrete installations have been as environmentally friendly as golf courses.  The Ed Benedict Skate Park in Portland, Oregon is trying to revise that image by managing storm water run-off more responsibly, absorbing it through integrated ‘biofiltration islands’ that have been incorporated as design elements.

Two recent efforts at sharing private green space: Hyperlocavore is an online ‘yardsharing’ forum that facilitates sharing of residential yard space, skills and resources for the collaborative tending of gardens and urban farms;  Community Supported Forestry is Roald Gunderson and Amelia Baxter’s attempt to build a member base for their 140-acre Vermont forest; membership is $550 for a year’s worth of unlimited recreational access, select access to forest harvests like wild mushrooms and sustainable lumber, and member workshops on topics like beer brewing, beekeeping and natural architecture.

This Saturday is the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance’s City of Water Day, a festival celebrating the potential of the City’s waterfront.  There will be plenty of free entertainment, education and activities, including boat tours, local bands, award-winning food vendors and lots of special children’s events.

Free Bike Fridays continue at Governors Island this summer.  Friday visitors can borrow a free bike from Bike and Roll for up to an hour (beyond that timespan, we’re talking rentals); you can also bring your own bike.  The entire two-mile waterfront promenade of the island is open, contributing to a total of five miles of car-free cycling.

The New York City Department of Transportation has created a free Google map of the locations of almost all (over 6,000) of the outdoor bike racks in New York City, and some indoor and covered racks. 

On Staten Island, the bulk of these are along the Bay St/Richmond Rd and Victory Blvd/Richmond Ave corridors, the latter of which will eventually lead you into Freshkills Park.