c/o Open Plans
The swing gate we told you about last month is no longer a plan. It’s bolted into the roadbed on Clarkson Street, and the city has officially switched it on.
As we reported in September, the barrier sits on Clarkson between Varick and Hudson Streets, outside City-As-School and M.S. 721. A ceremonial installation Tuesday brought DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn together with students and school staff.
On school days, the gate is set to be closed from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., handing the block to kids for recess and events.
amNewYork put the cost of the installation at $100,000 and said the permanent hardware is meant to replace the movable barriers used at other School Streets, which require daily upkeep. Flynn called the approach one that “opens possibilities to expand creativity with streets citywide with something lower-maintenance.”
Not every piece is finished. Patch reported that the “Street Seat,” a wooden bench structure with gardening space for students, is still to come. Open Plans, the nonprofit behind the design, has described the block as a model for the city; Sabina Sethi Unni told amNY that School Streets “provide essential space for students to socialize and grow, especially at over 370 city public schools without recreation areas.”
There are also open questions. ABC7 reported concerns from people nearby about congestion on streets that feed the Holland Tunnel while the gate is in use. And whether the idea spreads depends on money: Flynn said the city is looking at the idea closely but still has to work out “funding, if it’s the maintenance, the operations,” and ABC7 noted any expansion would need funding beyond the private grant behind this one.
The scale gap is wide. amNY noted that City Comptroller Mark Levine’s August report found only 74 schools took part in the School Streets program last year, even as hundreds of schools lack outdoor space of their own.
