Streetfilms: A New Play Street for Jackson Heights

Streetfilms newcomer Robin Urban Smith brings us this romp through a new play street in Jackson Heights. Located in a neighborhood with little access to park space, the 78th Street Play Street effectively extends Travers Park out past the curb every Sunday for 20 weeks.

Neighborhood groups Jackson Heights Green and Friends of Travers Park put a lot of time and effort into getting the play street off the ground. "This is the only play street I know of that’s organized by grassroots groups," said Elena Madison, one of the volunteers behind it (the events are usually organized through the Police Athletic League).

This Sunday will be the third time 78th Street turns into a play street, with Williamsburg Walks and Montague Summer Space rounding out the weekend’s car-free action.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Trick or Treat in the Street

|
We interrupt our post-Sandy coverage to bring you these pictures from Halloween last night at the 78th Street Play Street in Jackson Heights. The Jackson Heights Green Alliance put on the event, “Trick or Treat in the Street,” and Streetfilms’ Clarence Eckerson sent over these photos. This is the kind of thing residents can do in the […]

Streetfilms: Hiking the Heights

|
If you spend much time in upper Manhattan, you know it’s blessed with hundreds of acres of parkland, much of which serves to showcase the area’s naturally rugged terrain. To help bring attention to this sometimes overlooked resource while promoting public health, an organization called CLIMB (City Life is Moving Bodies), in conjunction with Creative […]
STREETFILMS

Tour de Queens 2011

|
Transportation Alternatives’ fourth annual Tour de Queens once again didn’t disappoint. Yesterday, 2,000 riders navigated the 18-mile, family-paced course, experiencing neighborhoods from Forest Hills to Jackson Heights. As usual, the festivities started and ended in fabulous Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the shadow of the iconic Unisphere.