Community Art Supports Community Space at Wald Houses
On August 4, Design Trust for Public Space’s Opening the Edge project held a community art party for Lillian Wald Houses residents that featured art making, food, and music to celebrate resident-led neighborhood beautification and the final phase of a project to create new public space at the Manhattan development.
Design Trust, a non-profit committed to how design can impact public spaces in NYC, has partnered with NYCHA and Wald Houses residents since 2016 on its Opening the Edge project, which is developing the new public space at an underused area of the development. This project is part of NYCHA’s Connected Communities initiative to improve open spaces and enhance residents’ physical and social connections to their communities and resources.
“Last year we started doing art activations in the space as a way to get people comfortable with using the space,” said Elana Ehrenberg, senior policy manager at Design Trust. “It’s still an underused grassy area with the fence around it but we’re trying to get people to envision what the space will be like. At Thursday’s event we used chalk paint to outline where some of the things were going, for instance a bench here and a platform there, which was a really great way to visualize the new park.”
During the first two phases of Opening the Edge, Design Trust led a participatory process with residents where they designed an accessible performance and gathering space to be located between 3rd and 4th streets on Avenue D and then raised funds to bring the project to life. The community design team – which is mostly comprised of residents – envisioned a hardscaped area with benches to relax and meet with neighbors, new lighting, and landscaping. (Watch a video that features members of the community design team talking about the project here.) The project has received funding from the New York City Council, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and former Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.
Now in its final phase, the open space project is moving towards a finalized design and the creation of a resident-led group that would be responsible for programming and managing the space. Design Trust is also in the process of finalizing the funding agreement and hopes to break ground on the new space in spring 2023. With construction estimated to take approximately four months, Wald Houses residents should have a new outdoor space that they helped design before the end of next year. The current sight plan for the space is pictured below (design is subject to change before construction).