Today, we began a week-long residency on the Lower East Side, transforming a stretch of sidewalk into an outdoor reading room on a beautiful sunny day. Walking by the Uni, one teen was overhead to remark to his headphone-wearing friends, “Books!”
The Uni quickly became a new neighborhood gathering spot. The first visitor was Traffic Officer Bill, who enjoyed the wildly-popular photo book “Humans of New York,” noting that he deals with these people every day. Bill once worked as a typesetter, and he told Leslie how he loves reading aloud with his grandson.
Our sponsor for the week is Tribeca Pediatrics, a practice serving 17 neighborhoods around the city, including this one at 409 Grand St. Our host is the 50+ year-old Seward Park Coop, which is helping us store our reading room kit overnight.
We’ll update during the week. Join us and celebrate national screen-free week!
Our assignment: create a place to gather and read at this location.
We brought some of our favorites from La Casa Azul Bookstore in East Harlem.
Stop by on the Lower East Side—we’ll be here all week!