Street Lab at Beaumont Ave
Belmont, Bronx
2022 – Present
Street Lab first started working with PS 32 in the fall of 2022, when we learned from collaborators Equity Design and Bronx Health REACH that the school wanted to explore Open Streets as a way to create more space for fitness. We held our first two pilots of an Open Street in October 2022. Following that, Columbia University graduate student Jim Lammers—who is now leading Street Lab’s work on New Public Spaces—worked together with students to build on those initial pilots and plan more Open Streets, developing a curriculum that Street Lab is now sharing with other schools. On three dates in spring 2023, we then brought the students’ ideas to life, with Open Street events focused on art, soccer, and water play. We also brought our collaboration with WNYC to Beaumont Ave, to capture voices of teachers, residents, and students that were later played on the radio. Now in the second school year of this partnership, the students themselves are leading the effort to continue the Open Street and make other improvements in the neighborhood.
More from our work at Beaumont Ave (PS 32):
Pilot Overview
Community Feedback Summary
Co-designing Public Spaces with Kids by Jim Lammers
Beaumont Ave between Grote St and E 183rd St
Our Community Partner
PS 32 The Belmont School is a public elementary school in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. After it was identified as a high-need candidate through New York State’s Creating Healthy Schools and Communities (CHSC) initiative in 2021, the school has been working with Street Lab and other local community organizations to increase health and wellness within their school community.
“The open streets have created a space for us to thrive as a community here at PS 32, while we celebrate health, wellness, and one another! ….You can see, hear and feel the joy that has been created! And the best part is—we created it and can keep on creating it!”
Anna Goldman
Movement and Mindfulness Teacher, PS 32
Look back at our work at Beaumont Ave
Creating Open Streets next to NYC Public Schools
Since Fall 2021, Street Lab has worked with seven public schools in the Bronx and Queens to pilot and launch Open Streets adjacent to the schools as part of our New Public Space initiative with the NYC Department of Transportation. Temporarily opening streets to...
Students at PS32 produce a video about Open Streets
Catch a short video about the Open Street on Beaumont Ave that Street Lab is creating with PS 32 in the Bronx, which was filmed and produced by the students at PS 32 in collaboration with The Media Spot, a nonprofit media literacy and training organization.
