Home - Street Lab

Street Lab is a nonprofit that creates and shares extraordinary programs for public space across New York City—pop-up reading rooms, open-air drawing studios, and more. We do this work in order to improve the urban environment, strengthen neighborhoods, and bring New Yorkers together. We also send kits around the world so that others can do the same.

In the Lab… the latest:

We’ve launched a new way to involve NYC teens in our work.
New effort launched to bring NYC artists to the streets.

Street Lab wins a 2021 Best of the City Award from Time Out New York

Support Street Lab

In 2021, Street Lab created a record-breaking 276 pop-ups that transformed streets into places for play, learning, creativity, and community across NYC. Your tax-deductible contribution can help expand that work. Here’s a letter from Street Lab’s co-founders with more details.

Street Lab transforms each host site, offering visitors a special urban experience—enjoyable, educational, simple, direct, and out-of-the-ordinary.

Betty Chen

NYC Planning Commission

Since 2011, we’ve deployed our programs over 1050 times in 278 locations across NYC.

Heat map of Street Lab deployments in NYC

Learn about where we work…

Street Lab on Twitter:

; Street Lab @streetlab ·

14 Dec 1470827958847909892

Here's a year-end letter from Street Lab's founders asking for your support as we head into 2022. Your donation goes directly to our work in low-income communities and helps support a vibrant, shared street life in all NYC neighborhoods. Thanks! https://www.streetlab.org/2021/12/13/our-vision-for-nyc-streets-year-end-letter-from-street-lab-co-founders/

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; Street Lab @streetlab ·

13 Dec 1470518162697428999

To take pressure of indoor spaces in NYC this year, we started our pop-up season early, landing on @34_ave in February. 276 pop-ups later, we wrapped our season with a return visit yesterday. Thank you to our staff, volunteers, and community partners. See you in 2022!

34AveOpenStreets @34_ave

Thank you @streetlab for coming out to @34_ave with your BUILD NYC program - it was a hit. See you soon on our #OpenStreets!

#34AveOpenStreets
#JacksonHeights
#citiesforpeople
#streetsforpeople
#NYC25x25 https://twitter.com/34_ave/status/1470019271300370432