neighborhood

You can be selected to
display your art in Stuyvesant Park

The Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association (SPNA) is excited to support the installation of a site-specific artwork by a New York City based artist within historic Stuyvesant Park, a twin park located between East 15th and East 17th Street at Second Avenue in Manhattan. The selected artist will receive $5,000 generously funded by SPNA.

Location

This grant will help bring attention to subjects such as the natural beauty of the park and/or the unique history of the park and surrounding community. Artists are strongly encouraged to visit the park before submitting a proposal.

The selected artwork will be presented in one of the following possible locations:

• Small enclosure near flag pole in West side of park
• Large lawn area on Northern side of West side of park
• Large lawn area of Northern side of East side of park
• Additional locations may be considered.

More information on Stuyvesant Park can be found on the NYC Parks website.

Timeline

July 30th, 2023 – Proposals due
August 2023: Award recipient announced
Spring 2024: Artwork installed in park

Eligibility

This award is open to New York City based artists only. Artists who are eligible will have
specialized training in their field (not necessarily gained in an academic institution), who are in
any stage of their career, and who have created an independent body of work. Proposals for
new, existing, or previously exhibited works will be accepted.

Application Procedure

Proposals will be subject to NYC Parks review and must follow NYC Parks public art guidelines.

Proposals must be submitted as a single PDF and include:

Resume with current contact information

• One-page statement describing artist’s work in general
• Proposed sculpture – detailed description of no more than 2 written pages
• Representative renderings or images of proposed artwork
• List of materials, dimensions, and weight
• Installation recommendations
• Maintenance recommendations
• Proposed budget
• Names and contact information of two references who are familiar with artist
• 5-6 images of previous work; each image should be labeled and succinctly described

All materials must be received by July 30th, 2023. Proposals should be emailed to Todd Drake
at outreach@penington.org

Award Details

The chosen recipient will be granted an award of $5,000. The artwork will be installed in the Spring of 2024 and will be on view for up to one year. Grant recipients will be selected through an open application process and chosen by a committee of art professionals, as well as NYC Parks and SPNA representatives. Proposals will be judged according to artistic and creative merit, response to the surrounding community, and suitability to the site. Priority will be given to proposals that respond directly to the park and its neighborhood.

Artworks cannot be attached to trees or lampposts.

The grant recipient will be responsible for the costs related to fabrication, installation, insurance, maintenance, and deinstallation of the artwork. At the end of the exhibition term, the artist is responsible for returning the park to its original condition.

NYC Parks will assist the awarded artists with logistics such as permitting and site specifications. Artists will be responsible for engineering documents if necessary. Grantees are encouraged to procure in-kind donations or additional funding if exhibition costs exceed the grant amount. Artists are encouraged to research partnership opportunities with community and cultural organizations.

Program Background

NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program has consistently fostered the creation and installation of temporary public art in parks throughout the five boroughs. Since 1967, NYC Parks has collaborated with artists and arts organizations to produce over one thousand public artworks in New York City parks. For more information about the program visit the Art in the Parks page.

As stewards, the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association aspires to raise awareness and engage the community by caring for the natural environment, preserving our history, and providing exceptional amenities and programming. We are committed to making the park accessible for all to enjoy, now and for future generations. Partnering with NYC Parks and supporting NYC artists is a natural extension of our mission.

Concerns about Illegal Smokeshops

Many people in the community are concerned about the proliferation of smoke shops in the city selling illegal products – including in our neighborhood. So, the community was very happy when this signage went up at the old Health Food business location on 16th street and Third Avenue.

Not only will the neighborhood be getting a new restaurant, but it eases the mind of the neighborhood to know that another smoke shop that was supposed to be opening in this location is no longer going to happen.

We still need to keep the pressure on in regard to the current smoke shop, which continues its business in spite of being given multiple fines for selling illegal cigarettes to underage minors as well as other violations.

We have been advised that filing 311 complaints helps to keep the pressure on the city agencies to keep addressing these illegal activities at these locations.

Here is the link to file a complaint.

Thank you for your help.

Caring for Our Trees

New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera’s office has organized a street tree demonstration, community planting, and tree bed survey training and information session.

East Side Street Tree Care Demonstration and Community Planting/ East Side Street Tree Survey

Saturday, April 22, 11:30am | Avenue B Open Street b/w East 8th and 9th streets

Sign-up for a street tree care demonstration and community planting that will take place as part of the Car Free Earth Day Avenue B Open Street programming.

The demonstration and planting will mark the kick-off of the East Side Street Tree Survey. Volunteers are needed to assist with surveying the street trees and tree beds in Council District 2. This survey will help inform City agencies about the conditions of the street trees in our neighborhoods. If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here.

Please contact Eddie Amador with any questions: eamador@council.nyc.gov.

East Side Street Tree Bed Survey Training and Information Session

Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 6:30pm

Click here to register

Additional Funding from Greenacre Foundation

SPNA is delighted to report that the Greenacre Foundation has agreed to provide a second round of funding of $10,000, which will be used towards Phase 3 of our tree maintenance program. Above are images from Phase 2, which entailed pruning trees that cast a heavy shadow over flower beds, preventing the beds surrounding the fountains from receiving sufficient light and air for the plants to grow.

Phase 3 will focus on the West Park and is tentatively scheduled to take place this summer. The goals of this phase are to:

• Reduce weight of branch ends
• Reduce risk of branch failure
• Reduce likelihood of storm damage
• Maintain size and shape

We want to thank Eric Anderson of Bartlett Tree Experts for his dedication and enthusiasm for this program.

Thank you also to SPNA board President Jason Money and board member Doris Dieter for making sure we met the deadlines in order to be considered for this funding.

SPNA is very grateful to the Greenacre Foundation for their recognition of the importance of this work and their continued support of our efforts.

Thank You!

SPNA wants to thank all the volunteers who came out on It’s My Park Day to help clean litter from the garden beds in Stuyvesant Square and the surrounding streets. They did a great job in spite of the heat!

A big shoutout to Sokie Lee and Ken Gray, co-founders of NYC CLEAN Volunteers, who partnered with SPNA for this event. Their participation helped to make this event a success.

We also appreciate the support of Partnership for Parks and NYC Parks for their help in making this event happen twice every year.

And thanks to Trader Joe’s for providing the shopping bags that we used to collect the litter!

It takes the efforts of many to keep our city clean.