The Forthcoming Reality of Holly Whyte Way

6-1/2 Avenue Crosswalk

6-1/2 Avenue Crosswalk
Image courtesy of NYC DOT via The New York Observer.

Only six months after the Arcade Parade, Holly Whyte Way is officially becoming a reality! This week the New York City DOT announced its proposal to connect the privately-owned public plazas and arcades that run from 51st to 57th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues. Since then, Community Board 5′ Transportation Committee has approved the plans for crosswalks, stop signs and warning markers that will alert motorists to yield to pedestrians moving along what will be soon be officially known as 6½ Avenue. Needless to say, Friends of Privately Owned Public Space is celebrating. Special thanks to Matt Chaban for his wall-to wall coverage of the development. More details below…

Arcade Parade patch

Meet Me on 6½th Avenue: DOT Planning Public Promenade Through Middle of Midtown Towers / Matt Chaban, NY Observer, 3.26.12

Arcade Parade a Wandering Success

The Arcade Parade celebration of Midtown privately owned public spaces, October 2011, New York, NY. 1.5 hours, uniform, maps, performers, public spaces, participants. Combination view.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Arcade Parade on Saturday, October 15th. Together the F-POPS team, Hungry March Band, and over one hundred people festively wandered through Midtown’s largest network of privately owned public spaces. Under LeWitt stripes waving, the Arcade Parade fomented the Social Life of these Small Urban Spaces through festive music, critical observation, site specific play and interventionist sound. Through blocks played and plazas performed, Holly Whyte Way is cemented as path and place.

More pictures and info about Friends of Privately Owned Public Space at f-pops.org.

Special thanks to the 27 backers on kickstarter and the many other volunteers and supporters who helped make the Arcade Parade possible.

Organizers: Brian Nesin, David Gryder, Graham Coreil-Allen, Christina Kelly, Elena Volkova. Performers: The Hungry March Band, the children on scooters, Simone and Claire Ghetti

The Arcade Parade / 10.15.11 / 11am / Midtown-NYC [updated]

Arcade Parade flyer

Arcade Parade flyer
Join us on Facebook and visit our KICKSTARTER page to help make this parade a success!

Download your own Holly Whyte Way SELF-GUIDED TOUR here.

Arcade Parade
Holly Whyte Way Dedication
October 15, 2011, 11am-12:30pm
Starting at AXA Plaza
151 West 51st St, New York, 10019

Join us in Midtown New York on Saturday, October 15th for the Arcade Parade, a free pedestrian tour through a series of little-known shortcuts composed of privately owned public spaces. Between 51st and 57th Streets and 6th and 7th Avenues, there exists an exciting, if unfinished, network of privately owned public spaces (POPS) provided by developers in exchange for additional floor area within the buildings above. Friends of Privately Owned Public Space (F-POPS), in conjunction with the West 54th/55th Street Block Association, and openhousenewyork, is promoting the individual spaces along the parade route as a single entity called Holly Whyte Way. William “Holly” Whyte was an influential urbanist whose books and films championed the substance of successful public space. In addition to enlivening these midtown arcades, F-POPS also seeks to increase their visibility and accessibility by connecting the spaces along the parade route with crosswalks. The proposal for crosswalks has been approved by the Community Board and is now being studied by the NYC Department of Transportation. The Arcade Parade will mark the dedication of Holly Whyte Way through a series of festive events along the nine-block parade route, including presentations of architecture and history by architects Brian Nesin and David Grider, episodes of play from artists Graham Coreil-Allen and Christina Kelly, a moment of site-specific sound by Simone and Claire Ghetti, and raucous music by the Hungry March Band!

Friends of Privately Owned Public Space is an organization dedicated to the celebration and improvement of New York City’s eighty-two acres of POPS. A collaborative of architects, artists, and community leaders concerned with the civic realm, F-POPS seeks to raise public awareness of the existence and purpose of these unique spaces.

f-pops.org / ohny.org / grahamprojects.com

Holly Whyte Way map

Arcade Parade patch