Monday, July 28, 2014

Swappable Park Possible Locations in CB6 and CB5

Union Square Park -Community Board 5


 
Union Square Park Plaza North is a meaningless plaza 3 days a week

  Four days a week a Green market is “swapped” into this empty Space

If you can swap in food sales 4 days a week into the plaza,  there is no reason why you can't  swap active recreation equipment into this space on those other three days





Distance to active recreation


Baruch Plaza-Community Board 6 




-part of DOT's Plaza's Program
- It is maintained by Baruch College. .
- allows for Baruch College to have a outdoors campus,.
-Currently a temporary plaza exists and a permanent plaza is being planned.


Distance to active recreation

 By creating a Swappable Park at Baruch Plaza,  it will transform the area, from simply a plaza with setating  into an outdoor student center,with scores of recreation activities, useable by both Baruch Students and neighborhood residents surrounding the plaza.

Flatiron Plaza-Community Board 5

A swappable park in the Flatiron district would serve Madison Square Park, Worth Square Park and the Flatiron BID.  The best location for it might be here at the northernmost tip of Flatiron Plaza.

-It is in the middle of Worth Square Park and Madison Square Park
-There is more then enough seating surrounding it to re-purpose the space.
-Area is not used for events
-would also give Flatiron Plaza an on site HQ location 
Flatiron Plaza North is on the right



-Ping Pong tables would best be swapped from there  into MSP so that stray balls did not land on the roadway

- One of the lawns in MSP could be dedicated to a swappable Children's play area,perhaps the one adjacent to the children's playground

-The white gravel area of MSP may  be a good area for activities like jump rope that would not be good on the grass.


 


Recreation equipment on wheels as Foosball tables can be easily swapped into  the  adjacent spaces of  Flatiron Plaza, Worth Square Plaza or the Madison Square Park sidewalk from there.

-Board Games can be played at tables at Flatiron Plaza North or Worth Square Park




Worth Square ParkCommunity Board 5

- a NYC Parks Dept Park
-, adjacent but separate  from Madison Square Park
-. MSP has taken on the responsibility of maintaining it.




 Twice a year Madison Square Park takes over Worth Square Park, swaps in food recreation and creates   Madison Square Eats. 


 "Madison Square Eats is back and we are hungry"

Community Board 5 has said the following about Madison Square Eats:

 While we appreciate that the Madison Square Park Conservancy has taken on the responsibility of maintaining Worth Square, we consider Worth Square public parkland separate and distinct from Madison Square Park. We believe that any funds generated by the use of Worth Square should be used only to maintain and improve Worth Square , not be absorbed by the general fund of the Madison Square Park Conservancy link

-The surrounding  area  offers a great deal of passive recreation(Madison Square Park,Flatiron Plaza, Madison Green, 41 Madison), and food recreation(Shake Shack,  Le Kiosk, Baked)
-there is  no active recreation for adults in the area
- The nearest active recreation locations are over 1/2 mile away in any direction.


Distance to active recreation

If a Swap Shed cannot be placed in Flatiron Plaza North, Worth Square Park would also be a viable location for one, though less desirable the Flatiron Plaza North.



Bryant Park 6 million annual visitors
Reading Room 300-500 Readers per day, Ping Pong-90-100 People per day (2 tables)
Chess 9 tables : 80 players per day      Games 9  Tables : 110 woman 60 men per day
Total: 640  people per day: 128,000 people over 200 days

Madison Square Park 1.5 million annual visitors
Flatiron District 230 chairs 87 tables +Worth Square    (not counted )
say 200 per hour *10hours =2000 per day *200 days=400,000 per year
 
50000*365=18 million people pass 23rd and 5th per year

Union Square Park  Holiday market (1 month)  1 million visitors
As one of the City’s highest-trafficked retail destinations, Union
Square draws nearly 350,000 pedestrians daily and over 35
Union Square draws nearly 350,000 pedestrians daily 







Swappable Parks-Have it your way recreation


Swappable Parks
The Obesity Crisis and Midtown Manhattans Lack of Active Recreation
Swappable Park Possible Locations Worth Square and Baruch Plaza
Staffing the Swappable Park
Swappable Park Equipment Catalog

Transforming Chelsea into Park Chelsea, Chelsea's Age Friendly Park that's also a park for all ages