WNYC Cityscapes: Meet-up No. 2 - The Grand Concourse

Photo by Flickr user ipythias

On a brisk evening last month, nearly a hundred Cityscapes enthusiasts showed up at the edge of Brooklyn’s Newtown Creek for WNYC/Urban Omnibus’ first meet-up: a walk with environmental sculptor George Trakas. On June 9th we’re doing it again—in the Bronx—joined this time by our friends at the Design Trust for Public Space. Leading the walk will be lifelong Bronx resident Sam Goodman, an urban planner at the Bronx Borough President’s Office, and Deborah Marton, executive director at the Design Trust. The Grand Concourse is the borough’s “Park Avenue of the middle class,” its Champs-Élysées, a four-mile long 182-foot wide grand thoroughfare set atop the crest of a hill, originally designed to connect Manhattan to the parks of the north Bronx. Opened in 1909 and mostly developed in the 1920s and 30s, the Grand Concourse is home to the largest collection of Art Deco and Art Moderne buildings in America. No doubt it's had some down times, but this year it celebrates its 100 birthday, with the Bronx Museum presenting a trio of exhibitions examining the street’s past, present and future, and co-sponsoring an international design competition with the Design Trust to generate bold ideas for the Concourse “beyond 100.” But it's not just all that. The Grand Concourse is having a moment. The old boulevard is at the crux of a broader conversation about the cityscape. While talk used to focus on individual buildings and the preservation of historic monuments, today there is a growing emphasis on the spaces between: on the streets themselves and their role in defining civic life. The trend is epitomized by this week’s dramatic change to Times Square, under the leadership of DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Kahn, and is apparent in the city’s new street design manual. As the Design Trust's competition will demonstrate, the Grand Concourse is one of New York's greatest places of possibility. Goodman and Marton will tell us how. Check out this video for a preview: Sam Goodman on the Grand Concourse from Design Trust on Vimeo. Then show up—after RSVPing!—at the corner of 171st Street and the Grand Concourse at 6:30pm on Tuesday evening June 9th. (You can take the B train to 170th and exit the station at 171st street, west side.) Following the walk, we’ll gather at 7:30pm at the statue in Joyce Kilmer Park, on 161st Street and the Grand Concourse, for one of the Design Trust’s famous Public Space Potlucks. (4, B, D train to 161st St - Yankee Stadium). Bring along some food and drink to share. RSVP for both events to rsvp@designtrust.org, or on Facebook. (The walking tour will be limited to 50 guests, while the Potluck is open to all.) See you there!