One week from today, on September 19, New Yorkers will stake their claim to some of the city’s most valuable, yet cheapest, real estate in celebration of Park(ing) Day.

For the uninitiated, Park(ing) Day entails the reclamation of public space by setting up temporary parks in on-street parking spots. Here’s the skinny on the 2008 edition from the Park(ing) Day NYC web site:

This year, Park(ing) Day NYC will double the fun with double the locations: 50+ parks in the Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens.
In addition, park builders are putting new emphasis on site-specific
designs that will reflect the social, cultural and architectural
contexts in which they’re situated, as well as generate innovative
proof-of-concept designs for permanent public space reclamation.
Seating areas, art installations, and community engagement will all
make the case for a more sensible and human-friendly distribution of
available urban public space.

Park(ing) Day 2008 will be followed on October 18 by Park(ing) Day REDUX, featuring a rebuild of selected spots along with photos and other media from this year’s event, in front of EYEBEAM Art and Technology Center on 21st Street.

With more locations to choose from this year, and Summer Streets having whetted appetites for car-free street space, can NYC finally outdo San Francisco in (Park)ing Day participation?

Photo: Keka Marzagão via Sustainable Flatbush/Flickr