Bryant Park – New York City, New York (2014)

Isaac Kremer/ March 7, 2014/ placemaking/ 0 comments

Visit in 2017

The lawn of Bryant Park maintained its centrality to the plan of the park and as an outdoor living space for the many tall buildings surrounding it. Looking a little closer, Bryant Park has so much more to offer than just a lawn.

Bryant Park is a city park renovated, funded, and managed by the
Bryant Park Corporation. It is patrolled by both New York City police
and the security force of the Corporation.

You are Welcome to

• Enjoy the park, including the lawn, when open
• Spread blankets on the lawn, but not plastic material or tarpaulins
• Enjoy the gardens – without entering flowerbeds or picking flowers
• Use a park chair or one seat on a bench designed for sharing
• Deposit waste in trash or recycling receptacles
• Walk your dog – on a leash and not on the grass -if you clean up after it·
• Take souvenir photos – commercial photography by BPC permit only

Park Guidelines Prohibit

• Drug use
• Alcohol use outside the Grill, Café, and Southwest Porch
• Smoking
• Organized ballgames
• Sitting or standing on balustrades
• Entering the fountain
• Feeding pigeons
• Rummaging in trash receptacles
• Amplified music that disturbs others
• Performances, except by permit
• Commercial activity, except by permit
• Obstructing park entrances
• Bicycle riding and parking,
  skateboarding, or rollerblading

Saturday-Sunday

7am-11pm

Closer to the Public Library is a shaded outdoor dining area, with white tablecloths and white umbrellas to reinforce the exclusivity of this area from those around it.

Piano in Bryant Park was installed from May 1 – September 29, 2017. Regular programming was held from 12:30pm-2:30pm. On select Thursdays special piano activities were between 2pm-4pm, and a Sing-A-Long immediately following Broadway in Bryant Park. Featured artists provided a draw at different dates and times, providing an opportunity for outdoor performance.

The Southwest Porch at Bryant Park transformed the southwest corner into an outdoor lounge vibe.

While well intending, having people clean up after themselves probably is not the most effective way to keep the tables and furniture in good order. This was a nice try.

The area immediately around the carousel had a dedicated seating area with the typical Bryant Park chair, but it was less used than other sections with more comfortable seating.

Hailing from Scandanavia, Kubb is also known as Viking Chess. Knock over your opponents’ kubbs, and take out the King to win. Ask the host for a lesson to get started.

Kubb Tournaments were held on select Wednesdays at 6pm. Kubb takes over the lawn during the single-elimination, bracket style tournaments.
Pre-registration is required for a group of up to 6 players; registration opens one month before the tournament. On-site registration starts at 5:30pm if space allows.

Host a Party: Host your next birthday or corporate outing at
Putting, Kubb, or both. Reservation info and pricing at bryantpark.org.

BRYANT PARK PUTTING was open from April – October from 110am-8pm, weather permitting. Equipment was provided though guests needed to “See host to play.” They also were welcome to play with their own equipment.

Some guidelines for play were provided:

1. Be polite, considerate, and courteous of fellow park goers
2. Park guidelines prohibit playing without a shirt or shoes
3. Children under the age of 12 playing without a guardian’s supervision
4. Dogs were not allowed on the artificial turf
5. No lying down on turf
6. No Wild swings, throws or hits

Putting Workshops were held on specified dates at 6pm and 7pm. Golf professionals were on hand to perfect technique of players. Pre-registration was required.

In August a “Putting Championship ” was held Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm with three qualifying rounds and a “Championship Round” the last Thursday of the month. This also required pre-registration.

The Bryant Park Games cart in 2017 had the following games for free use, organized by category. The wheeled cart made it easy to bring these out and place them into storage. Finally, the attendant ensured that games taken out were also returned. The promise of fun was well worth the price to equip and staff this amenity.

Surrounding tables with solid surfaces for game playing and comfortable chairs for people to sit in for extended periods of time, further enhanced the game playing experience. Umbrellas with “Games” written on the valance further delineated this as a game playing zone.

BRYANT PARK CHESS & BACKGAMMON has its own dedicated gaming space in Bryant Park. An affiliation with a local chess club is key to the vitality and success here. The informational panel is particularly helpful for those looking to get started with chess or to improve their game play.

HOW TO WIN AT CHESS

1. Learn a good opening that suits your style. Flashy with lots of action? Quiet and positional? Somewhere in between? Know your chess personality.
2. Study the position. The biggest mistake beginners make is to move without thinking. Look at the whole board.
3. Make a plan. The deeper you see, the stronger you’ll play. The average player sees 3 – 4 moves ahead. Grandmasters see 10 – 15 moves into a position. That’s the difference.
4. Develop your pieces and control the center. Get your army organized before attacking. The center 4 squares on the board are the key to winning. Rule them and you rule the world.
5. Play with ideas. Creative chess is the way to victory. Keep an eye on your opponent while you come up with the best approach.

FAMOUS VISITORS
Stop by and play a few games. You never know who
you might meet.

• Grandmaster Robert Hess, who became a Grandmaster at 17 and was the youngest GM in the United States at the time.
• Grandmaster Ron Henley, financial wizard and advisor to world champion Gary Kasparov.
• Grandmaster Amon Simutowe, the first Grandmaster from sub-Saharan Africa, and the third black chess GM in history.

The Marshall Chess Club: The club started in 1915 and is the strongest club in the United States, with over 25 Grandmasters as members. Many champions of the game, past and present, learned the game in the club’s brownstone, located on beautiful 10th Street in Greenwich Village. Bryant Park Chess and Backgammon is endorsed by the club. marshallchessclub.org

The planters in Bryant Park are among the best designed around. They exemplify the three essential elements of planters: thrills, chills, and spills. The thrills give an element of height, the chills provide variety of texture and color, and spills literally spill out of the planter and stretch out towards the sidewalk.

One last element is the trash and recycling containers that are custom designed for this area. They have a nice sculptural quality to them. This goes to show the importance of every detail when seeking to create quality places for people to enjoy.