What we do

Here’s how we help communities transform New York City streets…

Public Space
Activation

We operate a citywide programming circuit, deploying 15+ types of pop-ups that communities love, creating places for people to gather, learn, and create, right on the street. 500+ times year, all five boroughs.

Pop-up that brings New Yorkers together.

New Public Space Development

We partner with community groups to help them launch new public spaces—Open Streets, School Streets, Play Streets, Street Seats, and more. We meet each partner where they are at, providing access to our design and operational capacity, helping them bring a vision for the street to life.

Design

We design pop-up infrastructure that our team and community partners use to activate public space across New York City.

Fabrication

We fabricate in-house to get ideas on the street quickly and improve designs over time. We also ship kits to other cities.

Results

Since 2011…

2530

Pop-ups

295

Community partners

440

Locations in NYC

94%

in low-moderate income areas

33

New public spaces launched with Street Lab support in NYC

10,295

hours of free opportunities to read, draw, play, and more

110K+

New Yorkers participating in Street Lab programs

75

Kits fabricated and shipped to other cities

Initiatives

Equipment Library for Public Space

Street Lab offers an Equipment Library for NYC Public Space—the city’s first. Thanks to founding support from NYC Dept. of Small Business Services and in-kind support from NYC Dept. of Transportation, community groups can now borrow and deploy street furniture, equipment, and programming kits from Street Lab. Free, with pick-up and drop-off included, this new service aims to put resources in the hands of groups that are working to create inclusive and inspiring spaces across the city. Learn more here.

Streets Alive for Small Business

​Street Lab is activates streets along commercial corridors in low/moderate-income areas to help these areas thrive for small-business owners and residents alike. This initiative includes our “Meet a Small Business” program, and an Equipment Library that lets Business Improvement Districts borrow Street Lab’s custom-designed gear to host their own activities. With initial support from the NYC Department of Small Business Services, learn more here.

Street Lab Teens

Street Lab Teens offers New York City youth a chance to support and shape Street Lab’s mission of bringing community-oriented programming to neighborhood public spaces across New York City. Working closely with Street Lab staff, the team helps develop and lead select Street Lab programs, all of which take place outdoors and have been re-designed for COVID. Learn more here.

Past Initiatives

Inside Out

During COVID, we’ve expanded our partnerships with NYC arts and cultural institutions to bring programming out from behind walls into a safe, open-air setting. Queens Museum, The Drawing Center, SoHo Memory Project, and most recently the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs New York City Artist Corps. Thanks to NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund at the New York Community Trust for initial support. Learn more here.

Street Lab Artist Partnerships

During COVID, we’ve expanded our partnerships with NYC artists and musicians and developed new ways to connect them to audiences in a safe, open-air setting. Visual artists, classical and jazz musicians, and more—all on the streets of NYC. Now featuring street exhibitions by NYC Artist Corps Grant recipients. Learn more here.

100 Activations for NYC

In the second half of 2021, Street Lab added more than one hundred new activations on the streets of NYC to support neighborhoods hit hard by COVID. Activations featured Street Lab’s signature programs as well as Street Lab Teens leading community chalk murals and partnerships with artists and other cultural groups. We are committed to using challenging moments like these to activate public space in ways that include, connect, and lift up every New Yorker. Learn more here.

Learning Hubs

As part of our COVID response, we launched pop-up, open-air meeting places for NYC students. At Learning Hubs, students of all ages can meet up with classmates, find a book to read, and do homework together, all while staying safe, socially-distanced, and outdoors. Our staff and volunteers will be on-hand to offer help. Learn more here.

In 2021, in support of the city’s recovery efforts, Street Lab created open-air street venues for sharing the work of hundreds of NYC artists who were recipients of City Artist Corps Grants. The City Artist Corps was a $25 million recovery initiative intended to support NYC-based working artists who were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Over 3000 artists received grants, and Street Lab provided them with places to exhibit their work and also engage with the public.

The Uni Project

When we launched a portable reading room called the Uni in 2011, we understood the impact it could could have for kids in low-income neighborhoods who are at risk for “summer slide” and achievement gaps. Thus began our work to transform the street-level environment of the neediest NYC streets with pop-up reading rooms, drawing studios, and more. All of that work continues today and is embedded in the ongoing work of Street Lab, where a majority of our work serves mid to low-income communities. Learn more about the Uni Project here.

Adults and children posing on the street.