Rolling the tape on recent Public Space Award winners

Last week our first-annual Open Plans Public Space Awards was an inspirational crowd-pleaser attended by many in the livability world. As I watched the ceremony I was thrilled to realize that I’d recently featured half of the eight recipients in at least one Streetfilm. I will discuss that below a bit as we feature those in this post. But first – an exciting debut! At the event we also screened our brand new Open Plans PSA explaining our core mission. We’re calling it “Maps Can Be Redrawn” and you can see that embedded below. It features nearly 90 shots of the streets of the city! It was scripted by Open Plans’ Events Associate Eric Parker and voiced by Yael Rizowy.

Paseo Park
Most Inspirational Project in NYC

First up, this award recipient is near and dear to my heart since I live mere feet off the 34th Avenue Open Street in Jackson Heights. During the pandemic not only did it provide our beleaguered neighborhood with a place to gather, exercise and maintain some semblance of life but it provided Streetfilms an easy subject while travel was shut down and world cities were in a state of emergency. I recently got to tour many of the design elements and transportation strategies with Eric Beaton (Deputy Commissioner for Transportation Planning & Management) and Emily Weidenhof (Director of Public Space) from NYC DOT in a great educational tool that can be understood by everyone.

Best Public Space Evolution Over Time
Meatpacking District

The Meatpacking District won the prize for Best Public Space Evolution Over Time and it’s been amazing to watch this play out ever since Open Plans & Streetfilms’ origins back in 2005. It used to be a crowded, congested car sewer and now, nearly 20 years later, it is one of the most beautiful, clean beacons - transforming New York City into a people-first place with shopping, food and entertainment. Executive Director of the Meatpacking BID Jeffery LaFrancois has been one of NYC’s strongest advocates to keep the momentum for remaking our public sphere more friendly to all modes and business. We  interviewed him last year in this enlightening look back on what it used to look like and what the future holds. 

Curbside Safety Award
Hoboken Department of Transportation and Parking

This past fall we were invited to take a New Jersey bike tour through Hoboken and Jersey City to see the amazing transformations happening  on the other side of the Hudson. The event, which was hosted by Transportation Alternatives' Vision Zero Cites Conference, turned out dozens of advocates from around the country and region to see Hoboken’s incredible achievement of (now) 5 years of zero traffic deaths of pedestrians, cyclists or drivers - which they accomplish via a variety of techniques including not allowing parking at the curbs of intersections. Watch our fun ride below featuring many excellent guest speakers.

Best Small BID
Park Slope Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District

During the first year of covid, many great Open Streets and weekend events popped up all over New York City. 34th Avenue in Queens, Berry Street in Williamsburg, and Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights just to name a few. But one that truly stood out, due to its massive slate of restaurants and business (plus its phenomenal length), was the car-free weekends on Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue, where the small BID worked incredibly hard to make the events happen from the beginning of spring thru early November. To be perfectly honest, Streetfilms ended up filming here because so many fans and residents kept telling us we had to! And I’m glad they did.

And despite my travels far and wide in New York City, there were a few awardees at the event that I haven’t yet filmed. Gowanus Canal Conservacy won the Curbside Climate Award; Clean Air Green Corridor won Best School Street; and Lonnie Hardy won the Activist Award for her work on the Jennings Street Open Street in the Bronx. It was a blast to be in the same room with all the old friends I’ve previously worked with — and now I look forward to visiting these new friends soon and enjoying the fruits of their hard work making our public spaces safe and joyful places for all New Yorkers!