Last month’s Potluck contest generated a slew of public space ideas, from Jackson Heights’ Landing Lights Park (a reportedly romantic spot in the shadow of the La Guardia runway) to high-end hotel lobbies.
Yes, hotel lobbies.
Our friend Brian Nesin guest blogs about his experience at Le Parker Meridien, a privately-owned public space (POPS) located at 118 57th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues.
I became interested in Le Parker Meridien space after the hotel began renovating the north section of the lobby, a 20-foot wide passage to 57th Street. They added a coffee bar and decorated it with furniture that looks like it was stolen from The Cloisters. One day I sat down with my lunch in this area and was told that it was for the coffee bar customers only.
I did not appreciate this, and suspected that this space was a POPS, so I did a little bit of research. Specifically, I got a hold of the book Privately-Owned Public Spaces: the New York City Experience by Jerold Kayden, the Dept. of City Planning, and the MAS. I learned that the entire lobby is a POPS, and is categorized as a "through-block arcade."
I also recently visited City Planning where I reviewed both the special permit that set up the POPS as well as plans of the space. The hotel's renovation has violated their original agreement in a number of ways, including: not posting the required public space signage, changing the seating configuration from the original plan, installing a gate which sometimes restricts access between 56th and 57th Streets, misstating the hours the space is open to the public, etc.
More important than any specific violation is the overall impression they have created, which is that the north portion of the lobby is a sort of private hotel lounge that most people would feel uncomfortable passing through trying to get between 57th to 56th Streets.
So I went back to the hotel, and when asked to leave I explained that this is a public space and that I had the right to sit there without buying their $7 coffee. They called the person in charge of security, who was very pleasant. I explained to her about POPS, and what a "through block arcade" is. The next time I went there to brown bag it, they brought me a plate, figuring that they could not kick me out, but did not want to let anyone know that I was not a paying customer.
This situation does not seem very fair to the less-informed public. Although I could simply register a complaint with either the City Planning or Buildings, this experience has made me think that what the POPS need is a group, analogous to Friends of Hudson River Park, or the Prospect Park Alliance, that would represent the "public."
Check out last winter's POPS Potluck at the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center and look for another POPS Potluck coming your way in Winter 2010.
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