Chelsea Streetscape Collection Shines In its three years of existence, the Chelsea Improvement Company has made great strides in improving the streetscape within its boundaries. Key to that effort has been the Southwest Chelsea Street Furniture Collection, designed and developed by our own Ignacio Ciocchini.
The collection consists of five complementary streetscape elements: treepits, trash receptacles, pedestrian lamps, illuminated street signs, and a parking regulation sign system. Visually inspired by the industrial past of the neighborhood as well as its current status as a mecca for high-tech businesses, chic stores, and fashionable restaurants, the elements directly address problems common to urban streets and sidewalks. In doing so, they have improved the quality of life for residents of, and visitors to, Chelsea.
The trees and treepits, 58 of them, soften the streetscape considerably, and their soil serves to filter water runoff in an area that had been almost devoid of street horticulture. The 85 façade-mounted pedestrian lamps take up no sidewalk area, and are spaced precisely to provide a soft, continuous blanket of light for the growing number of nighttime pedestrians. Those pedestrians will also benefit from our illuminated street signs, 26 of which will be installed later this year. We also replaced the inadequate trash cans with 36 larger ones of our own that announce our presence with our logo. Our parking regulation sign system, which can quickly produce signs with any combination of messages, use friendlier fonts, clearer graphics, and are much easier to understand than the city’s conventional signs.
These elements were designed to perform as a collection. By itself, each element might not make a great difference, but together, they produce a discernible, positive effect. And we’re not done yet. Later this year, we’ll add 31 bike racks and 11 benches.
Check Out the Southwest Porch on the Web We knew that The Southwest Porch at Bryant Park was a good idea, but we’re still gratified that it has become so popular in such a short time. One way to see just how big a hit is to check out the buzz on the internet. Folks contributing to Yelp routinely give The Porch 4 or 5 stars. Pamela’s Manhattan at About.com loves it as well, and the reviewer for Jaunted wrote that “the Porch freaking rocks.” While this writer seems to have been especially inspired by the specialty beer served at the Porch, he also rhapsodized about “the cheery yellow color scheme,” and the “lounge-like seating that welcomes everyone, not just those buying drinks,” We can’t stress that latter point enough: The Porch is a great place to buy specialty food and drink items prepared by ‘wichcraft, but it’s also a place anyone can come to, with no required purchase, and just sit and relax.
As you may have noticed, The Porch is currently undergoing some changes in preparation for a re-launch on March 29. We’ll give you more details as the big day approaches. Meanwhile, it remains open every day during regular park hours, and ‘wichcraft serves food and drinks from 11:00am-6:00pm each day.
Number of Sidewalk Sheds in District Down Sidewalk sheds, those temporary, sidewalk-enclosing structures used to protect pedestrians while buildings undergo façade inspection or maintenance, are a regrettable fact of life on NYC streets. They are unsightly, make access to street level retail stores and restaurants difficult, and can wreak havoc on street furniture and trees. The 34th Street Partnership tracks the number, and total length, of sidewalk sheds in the District, and we are pleased with the current trend.
According to our statistics, there are currently 15 sheds in the District, which is an encouragingly low number. Furthermore, sheds currently cover only 11% of District frontage, down from a high of 29%. That’s the lowest percentage at any time since March 2006. By the way, if you own or manage property in the District and need to put up a sidewalk shed, 34SP can offer you assistance that will help to minimize the damage that the sheds may cause to street trees. Contact Maureen Hackett at mhackett@urbanmgt.com.
Weekend Streetscape Inspectors on the Job Streetscape Inspectors serve as the “eyes and ears” of the 34th Street Partnership and Bryant Park Corporation, and they’re on the job seven days a week. Even on weekends, while most of our administrative staff members are away from the office, at least one of our streetscape inspectors is making the rounds. Camera in hand, they tour the District and the park several times each Saturday and Sunday, making sure the facilities we are responsible for are operating correctly, monitoring unsightly or dangerous conditions, and watching for illegal or disruptive activity. Toward the end of the day, the inspector emails a full report, with photographs, that is received by each member of the staff. The report is also discussed at our weekly staff meeting.
The weekend inspections and reports serve several important functions. The dedicated inspectors maintain our presence in our districts when the rest of the staff is away; they are on hand to respond immediately to problems; and their reports keep our organizations informed on what goes on during weekends, when the character of our districts is quite different than during weekdays. A typical report, such as the one filed by Streetscape Inspector Leah Mosall last Saturday, illustrates just how many aspects of midtown life fall under our purview. Her report included 25 photographs, and included observations on topics ranging from work being done on the dedicated bus lane on 34th Street to traffic-blocking construction on 40th Street. The report wasn’t all about problems, though. Ms. Mosall also sent a photo showing some sprouting daffodils at Bryant Park.
The Bottom Line February’s record snow wasn’t great for attendance at Le Carrousel in Bryant Park. Still, ridership through the first two months of 2010 is running 14% ahead of the same period in 2009, with 4,321 total riders, compared with 3,807 the previous year.
Bryant Park Daily Amenities Le Carrousel Spring Hours – through May 31 Daily: 11:00am-7:00pm – Weather permitting The Southwest Porch Monday-Sunday: 12:00pm-6:00pm
In its three years of existence, the Chelsea Improvement Company has made great strides in improving the streetscape within its boundaries. Key to that effort has been the Southwest Chelsea Street Furniture Collection, designed and developed by our own Ignacio Ciocchini. 
The trees and treepits, 58 of them, soften the streetscape considerably, and their soil serves to filter water runoff in an area that had been almost devoid of street horticulture. The 85 façade-mounted pedestrian lamps take up no sidewalk area, and are spaced precisely to provide a soft, continuous blanket of light for the growing number of nighttime pedestrians. Those pedestrians will also benefit from our illuminated street signs, 26 of which will be installed later this year. We also replaced the inadequate trash cans with 36 larger ones of our own that announce our presence with our logo. Our parking regulation sign system, which can quickly produce signs with any combination of messages, use friendlier fonts, clearer graphics, and are much easier to understand than the city’s conventional signs. 
We knew that The Southwest Porch at Bryant Park was a good idea, but we’re still gratified that it has become so popular in such a short time. One way to see just how big a hit is to check out the buzz on the internet. Folks contributing to 
Sidewalk sheds, those temporary, sidewalk-enclosing structures used to protect pedestrians while buildings undergo façade inspection or maintenance, are a regrettable fact of life on NYC streets. They are unsightly, make access to street level retail stores and restaurants difficult, and can wreak havoc on street furniture and trees. The 34th Street Partnership tracks the number, and total length, of sidewalk sheds in the District, and we are pleased with the current trend. 
Streetscape Inspectors serve as the “eyes and ears” of the 34th Street Partnership and Bryant Park Corporation, and they’re on the job seven days a week. Even on weekends, while most of our administrative staff members are away from the office, at least one of our streetscape inspectors is making the rounds. Camera in hand, they tour the District and the park several times each Saturday and Sunday, making sure the facilities we are responsible for are operating correctly, monitoring unsightly or dangerous conditions, and watching for illegal or disruptive activity. Toward the end of the day, the inspector emails a full report, with photographs, that is received by each member of the staff. The report is also discussed at our weekly staff meeting. 
