A COMMUNITY PROJECT FOR OUR COMMUNITY PARK
We think of this project as a blueprint for the collaborative and community-led spirit with which we aim to activate this important public space.
After an inspiring kick-off meeting with all of our stakeholders at the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Gotham Park and the Urban Assembly Maker Academy students met twice weekly to learn about our community’s design goals, brainstorm ideas and create concept designs. Throughout the program, our stakeholder advisors have met with the students, provided their perspective and given feedback on the students' designs.
CONCEPT DESIGN
The students received paid internship stipends through the NYC Department of Education for their design work.
After a semester of stakeholder engagement, ideation and creation, the GRooP interns printed 3D models showing their concept designs. The students presented their concept designs for stakeholder review in their school Maker Space on May 10, 2023, and brought them across the street to show them to BP Levine at Gotham Park's opening on May 24!
(Scroll down to see all the GRooP concept designs.)
FULL-SCALE PROTOTYPES
In Fall 2023, Arup engineers led the students in bringing their designs to life in full scale. During this 3-month design-build prototype project, 12 talented GRooP interns teamed up to combine and improve upon their concept designs and hand-build three full-scale wood and foam models. The results are incredible!
SITE ANALYSIS AND SCALE MODEL
In Spring 2024, 5 tech-savvy Maker student interns worked with Arup to create a 3D scale model of Gotham Park's 9-acre site to better understand the terrain and site-specific needs for our GRooPs. Students made key observations and recommendations for site improvements based on their deep research and thoughtful analysis of the site.
PACE UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Led by Professors Monica Palta and Perl Egendorf, undergraduate and graduate environmental science students at Pace University have developed recommended native plant lists for the planters and citizen science activities for environmental monitoring of the final fabricated prototypes. Pace Environmental Studies students have completed initial baseline measuring of soil, water and air quality at the site and will lead citizen science lab days together with Maker AP Environmental Sciences students to measure for heavy metals, organic contaminants, salinity and nutrients to determine our GRooPs' filtration efficacy.
We’ll be updating this page with their interactive STEM activities for all ages once the initial prototype is in place!
WHAT'S NEXT?
The GRooP Sustainable Design Program will continue in Fall 2024!
Maker students will team up with our GRooP experts to tackle stormwater management, environmental monitoring, materials and engineering as they further develop their designs to fabricate a full scale prototype to be placed onsite.
Keep checking back here for updates as we progress from sketches to scale models to prototypes!
SUPPORT THIS PROJECT!
Our generous volunteer advisors have supported the students in their design work - now we need your financial support to fabricate, install, plant, maintain and test the prototypes!
Gotham Park is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Our EIN is 86-1317846. All donations are tax-deductible as permitted under federal tax law.
THE GROOP GROUP
We are enormously grateful to the community stakeholders, officials and experts who have generously devoted their time, resources, skills and experience to bring this project to fruition:
- The Office of Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine
- Gerry Irizarry, Melissa Giroux, Beth Filiano and the talented GRooP student team | Urban Assembly Maker Academy
- Professor Monica Palta, Professor Perl Egendorf and their undergraduate and graduate students | Pace University Department of Environmental Studies and Science
- Alice Shay, Somto Uyanna and Ubaldo Escalante | Buro Happold
- Paul McConnell, Gustavo Lopez-Mendoza and Stephanie Kehoe | Arup
- Tei Carpenter | Agency-Agency
- Nick Pettinati | New York City Department of Transportation
- Jordan Salinger | Mayor's Office of Climate and Environmental Justice
- Sergeant Martin Wingert and Officer Brandice LeGrange | NYPD Counter-Terrorism Department
- John Brock, Miki Urisaka and Amy Motzny | New York City Department of Environmental Protection
- Steve Rodriguez | Brooklyn Banks skateboarding community
- Alec Beck | The Skatepark Project
- Matthew Clarke | Design Trust for Public Space
- Aixa Torres | Alfred E. Smith Houses Residents Association
- Mariely Cerda, Alano Baez and senior volunteers | Hamilton Madison House
- Alice Blank | Manhattan Community Board 1
- Kwesi Joseph | Cornell Cooperative Extension (Harvest NY)
DESIGN GOALS
The planters will be heavy lifters!
Here are some initial design goals:
- Filters and retains rainfall and water runoff
- Ease of intergenerational gardening
- Senior-friendly seating for planters in passive recreation areas
- A skate-friendly edge for planters in active recreation areas
- A self-watering system
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Supports native vegetation
- Unfriendly to rats and other pests
- Moveable with a forklift
- Could be locally produced in mass quantities
- Preferably made of eco-friendly, cool materials
- Easy to level on sloping spaces
- Super sturdy to provide protection that welcomes the community
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
Once our final prototype is in place, we’ll be partnering with some of our community stakeholders to create intergenerational gardening and STEM programming around the planters. Our aim is to eventually place GRooPs below each of the dozens of scuppers as well as elsewhere throughout the site, which will provide robust opportunities for environmental and horticultural enrichment activities and data collection.
STUDENT CONCEPT DESIGNS
On May 12, 2023, the student interns from Urban Assembly Maker Academy presented their concept designs to our team of GRooP advisors and other community stakeholders for feedback. Take a look below at the elegant and thoughtful designs they've created and click the images to read more about the students' designs and provide your own constructive feedback within our community-driven design process!
Half a Bagel
Rain Usage Bench (RUB)
Rain Usage Bench (RUB)
Rebeca Meza and Noumou Diallo
This semicircle planter has both seating and interchangeable skate elements to serve our diverse communities!
Rain Usage Bench (RUB)
Rain Usage Bench (RUB)
Rain Usage Bench (RUB)
Jack Berger and Lil Barber
This self-watering planter has modular seating and skate elements that contain tanks to capture stormwater!
Stairs to Eden
Rain Usage Bench (RUB)
Stairs to Eden
Angelica Concepcion
and Jaden Ynoa
This terraced design for below our scuppers was inspired by furniture, because New York is our home!
Half a Donut
Cat in the Hat
Stairs to Eden
Luna Ramos and Julia Rodriguez
This semicircle planter was designed with details that add convenience and accessibility for our senior community!
Cat in the Hat
Cat in the Hat
Cat in the Hat
Muzic Attmore and Quajir Nanton
This terraced planter captures and filters stormwater while providing skating and seating elements!