The person who submitted this post has asked to remain anonymous. The content has been lightly edited for clarity.
My seven year old and I cross through Lincoln Center on the way to school. We watched as workers constructed those ramps that look like they belong in a skate park. Then we saw them place the green, faux-grass covering over the entirety of Josie Robertson Plaza, which in its current form is called “The Green.”
Photo by Bobby Panza
I was impressed by Lincoln Center’s efforts to find creative ways to bring joy to the community by transforming a classic concrete space into a modern lush park. But did they have any idea who the community around them is made up of? Did they not anticipate that this design might cause frustration for families?
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Soon after, I sought out some shade and at that hour the angle of the ramps created a shadow form on the curved part of the structure. I slowly walked up the ramp and attempted to sit down, but the plastic-grass and gravity made me slide right back into the sun. My four-year-old, who found this very amusing, attempted to slide down as well. The trusted security person immediately told me: “no sliding or climbing.” I tried to explain to her that I could not withstand the gravitational pull.
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She kindly explained that kids can fall off the top of the ramps. Of course, my four-year-old could not even make it up one-third of the ramp’s length, and it would take some serious professional athletics to make it over the top. My daughter was very disappointed. I understand the need for these safety rules, but why would you design something that looks so tempting to a child if they cannot play on it? Did they think that kids would simply look at the ramps and not be tempted to run on them? My kids are pretty tame and I’m all for lessons in resistance, but this would be like putting out a huge table of treats and saying they’re off limits. Having an open field filled with ramps that children can’t run on seems like a form of torture.
My kids have tried to climb up the ramp a hundred times already and every single time they are don’t please don’t climb up it. They obviously did not understand that children lived in the area. Lol.
Dear Anonymous:
Art/aesthetics/functionality. Your tale reminds me of the fountain at The Seattle Center, originally built as part of the Seattle World’s Fair of 1962 and the center piece of the plaza. It was designed to be ‘viewed’ and, as inviting as it appeared, not to be interacted with. The ‘fountain police’ were kept busy keeping people from dangling their feet over the rim of the seating area and definitely no running in the cascading water. Years later, realizing the errors of their ways, the fountain was completely remodeled into a joyful, interactive piece for young and old alike
This green space is a colossal waste of money when our city has so many families and businesses in need of help. This investment could have been spent so much more human. Now to find that it’s not kid friendly….
Anony:
This isn’t in a City park.
It’s unlikely the City put money into this project.
So you’re saying that you know how private funds should have been spent better.
No, I don’t think it was well thought out.
The upturned half cylinder is already closed off.
The statement is not so much that the commenter “knows better”… it’s an observation on how some design concept fails to take human factors into account. That is not at all centered on the commenter. This space is a physical thing, not just an abstract line item expenditure of private cash… it’s a place, that is going to used by people, and even “private money” can be used thoughtfully and its results talked about and maybe even improved by public discussion, right?
The “lawn” is made of polyethylene, which is plastic. It very likely sheds tiny pieces, called “microplastics,” when people walk, sit, etc on it. These microplastics are in the air and we all inhale them daily. They come from many sources including being shed from our synthetic clothing when we wear it or dry it in dryer. tire wear, and other sources. The rain washes them down the storm sewers and into the Hudson River to go downstream and be eaten by plankton and go up the food chain to fish we eat. Over the past decade there has been an extensive amount of research on microplastics, but we don’t yet know what effects they have on humans. Probably they don’t do us much good. The plastic “lawn” is adding to microplastics in the environment. Consider the possibility that the guard might have been protecting your children from inhaling additional microplastics.
Except that I’ve read — right here, among other places, in an April 13 story titled “Lincoln Center is Going GREEN!” — that The Green is actually made of a biobased material with a high soy content. But here it gets interesting. In a May 10 press release from the SYNLawn company, “The Famous Lincoln Center Plaza has been Transformed into a Green Lawn Paradise”, one reads:
“‘The Green’ is constructed of Biobased artificial grass provided by SYNLawn New York. Their turf is the only artificial grass company with USDA certification, due to high soy content, 100% sourced from US Farmers making it sustainable, and recyclable. The turf fibers are made from sugar cane, and the backing from soybean oil making it the most environmentally friendly turf on the planet.” Sounds pretty good so far … but if one follows the link for “Biobased artificial grass” to their page on the “EnviroLoc Backing System”, one sees:
“The EnviroLoc™ Backing System uses a durable 2-part woven Polypropylene backing fabric constructed to lock in tufted grass fibers. After tufting, the backing fabric and stitched grass fibers receive a thick layer of SYNLawn’s proprietary biobased EnviroLoc™ coating.”
Polypropylene.
And earlier it states, “Made in the USA, the EnviroLoc™ Backing System replaces a large portion of petroleum-based polymers (up to 60%) with biobased polymers created from sustainable resources including soybean oil.”
So, although this stuff isn’t polyethylene, it’s also maybe not as *green* as one might suppose. And I have no idea what’s in the “EnviroLoc™ coating” — people?
Conversely, one might think that perhaps this was not made with children in mind, but adults who were looking for a place of respite. Of course you love your children, and they are the center of your world, as they should be, but would you welcome a bunch of grownups into the playground, I don’t think so. Not everything has to be for everyone. I’m sure you and your daughter can find climbing and sliding elsewhere, or, you could take the time to model for your daughter an opportunity to sit and talk, observe the people around her, be in the space she is in without having to mold it to her own desires. Surely a good skill for her as she navigates the world.
Very well said!
Dear Ilovetheupperwestside,
Is it possible that the annoying advertising bands which continuously appear atop the stories you are attempting to share could be placed some please else?
Tom in the Bronx.
You don’t climb on works of art. That shouldn’t be a very difficult thing to teach your children. Go to a real park if you want them to climb and play.
I’ve been to many art shows where the artists invite people to interact and touch so there is art work that can be climbed on but obviously not these. I have not been yet so I didn’t know that. I would totally dig a grown-up playground: lengthy swings, gigantic loopy slides, huge jungle gyms, see-saws….
I’m with the father who spoke with an understanding of children. Any number of other additions could have been made on this lawn, ones that didn’t invite climbing or sliding. Also, let’s refrain from calling this “Art.” My suggestion would be for Lincoln Center to remove and redo these so the setting would be enjoyable for everyone.
It is literally an art installation by Mimi Lien.
Obviously Lincoln Center overestimated the ability of the neighborhood to comprehend the piece and the ways in which it is appropriate to interact, but we can’t refrain from calling it art because it is art. (Whether it is to anyone’s particular taste or not.)
This is a typical example of an UWS Karen, that complains about an art installation. I bet that if your kid climb and fall, you would be complaining anyway because there is a dangerous installation of art that is a danger for kids.
You live literally a couple of blocks away for some of the most beautiful parks in the city, with several playgrounds that -surprise- are design for kids.
Not all the people in UWS has kids, and if the art installation is not designed for kids to run like crazy, it’s because probably the objective is to have people enjoying peacefully the place, and not with a bunch of kids that believe that is a playground when is not.
Stop being such a complainers and enjoying the green, and if you have kids, take them to the playgrounds in CPW or Riverside, most of them beautifully renovated in the last years.
I understand this frustration, I do, but here’s the thing – not everything has to be kid-friendly. Even in this neighborhood.
Some places are for grown-ups to relax and enjoy, and other places are for kids to run around.
Since this is actually an art installation, not a playground, it makes sense that there would be some limits to how much it can be climbed on, no? And obviously Lincoln Center is protecting itself from a child climbing, falling, getting hurt, and the child’s litigation-happy family suing.
I wanted to enjoy it, but I don’t find my peace being in the center of a playground/dog park, so I have avoided Lincoln Center lately. There is an abundance of actual parks and playgrounds a short walk from there, for those who want their children to be able to climb and play, as children should do – in places specifically designed for that.
Honestly, I’ve seen a bunch of kids enjoying the space. Not every child wants to attack the ramps. Plenty are content to settle in a chair and eat an ice cream cone.
You can’t please all of the people, ever.
Truly. And learning impulse control is a good thing! I remember intentional lessons from my pre-school years of being taught what behavior is appropriate in which spaces, and I’m grateful for that. Even if a child wants to climb the ramp, what a wonderful opportunity for a teachable moment.
Ever stop to think maybe it wasn’t made for kids? Not everything in this city is engineered for children, considering mostly adults live here. I’m all for making parenting life easier, but not EVERY aspect of your day is going to be kid-friendly.
Designer-genius Lien doesn’t treat it as an art installation at all but as an inviting ‘village green’ for all to interact with as on a ‘real’ lawn (not an art installation with strict rules of limited and distanced appreciation). She told the NY Times among other things: “…. “Get a coffee and sit in the sun. Bring your babies and frolic in the grass.” Sounds like an inclusive kid-friendly environment was intended not a conceptual piece.
I’m trying for my first kid currently and this post makes me think I should reconsider to avoid being a part of the parent community. If it was advertised as a children’s play ground I could maaaaaybe understand the complaint but come on y’all.