Tuesday, December 15, 2015

More Loose Park Possibilities

The examples I gave for Loose Parks used Parks Department Parks and Library Lawns. Here are several other ways to create a Loose Park  near a library.


Schoolyard

Often schoolyars are open after school hours to the public. A schoolyard near a Play Library can become a Loose Park

In the upper left  corner is a Library, in the Lower right a schoolyard playground. By adding a Play Library to the library the playground becomes a loose park. (BTW the red dot is where I used to live. in those days NYC had staffed playgrounds where you could borrow play equipment , but that playground was over  1/2 mile away, )

 

Community Garden


The New York Restoration Projects El Catano Community Garden(below) at 171 East 110th Street,  is directly across from the Aguilar Library( 174 East 110th St)





Play Streets

-Create a Play Street Loose Park

Close down a street near a library and turn it into a Playstreet Loose Park

link





You don't need to take a whole street to create a playstreet near a library.


-Create a Play Parklet Loose Park
The parklet movement has transformed parking spots into passive recreation parks such as  this one in San Francisco that takes up the space of  3 cars and allows kids to play.Other parklets allow adults to play.





This space adjacent to Manhattans Science, Industry and Business  Library(33rd St at Madison-5th Ave)  is a block long dead street.
By removing parking and  lending recreation equipment, it can become a Loose Park . There is precedence for this...


 on 32nd street at 7th Avwenue in Manhattan     another street was turned into a block long  Fixed Park

Street Play England




Privately  Owned Public Space
A new library is being built on the site of the old Donnell library. in Manhattan It is about 150 feet away from the 31 West 52nd Street Privately owned public space







Unstaffed Play Library


 The Children's Magical Garden is a key access community garden
 


Hula hoops are available in it, for those who have key access. The community garden itself in this case acts as the Play Library
 


At the New York Restoration Projects Target Brooklyn Garden a outdoor reading room filled with children's books and magazines for adults (bottom left) , transformed the spot into a Loose Park for readers.