Our work at NYC Play Streets
Play streets are a long-standing tradition in New York City where streets are closed to traffic for play, usually during summer when school is closed. We began working at play streets in 2013, and their number appeared to be growing, thanks to support from the city’s health department and work by Transportation Alternatives. However in recent years, we’ve witnessed the closing of many play streets in favor of more structured and controlled environments, a pattern noted by others as well. We’ve also observed that children appear to be spending more of their free time at home in front of screens. In 2020, we plan to increase our support to play streets that are bucking this trend. We believe that city children need space for unstructured, spontaneous, voluntary play. We also believe that creative use of NYC streets can play a role in supporting underserved neighborhoods and at-risk NYC kids.
Got a play street in your neighborhood? Let's work together.
Photos of our work at NYC Play Streets:
Uni Reading Room, East Harlem Play Street
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, E104th St, East Harlem, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, West Harlem Play Street
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, W136th St, West Harlem, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Jennings Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Jennings St, Bronx, NY, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Rivera Ave Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Rivera Ave, Bronx, NY, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Irving Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Irving Street, Brooklyn, NY, July and August, 2014.
Uni Reading Room, Forest Ave Play Street, Bronx
See gallery of photos of Uni reading room, Forest Ave, Bronx, NY, July and August, 2014.
Blog posts about our work at NYC Play Streets:
Next Steps
Dear friends and followers, We hope you are healthy and safe. Just six weeks ago, we were poised to launch our biggest season ever, with 157 deployments already scheduled across NYC. All of that is now on hold. The need for everyone to stay home has been a near...
Making a place for learning at NYCHA public housing
Many NYC kids who live in low-income neighborhoods report that there is little to do over the summer, especially when camps and cultural institutions are out of reach. To help fix that, for six weeks this summer, we created a safe place to hang out and learn next to...
Making a place for learning at NYC summer play streets
The Uni Project has brought learning to NYC play streets since 2013, and this year we deployed our newest program BUILD NYC to play streets at Butler and Forest Houses (NYCHA) hosted by the Police Athletic League (PAL). One of our goals was to work with play street...