Seward Park

June 27, 2018

VIDEO: See ‘Mom-and-Pops of the Lower East Side’ sculpture being installed in Seward Park

6sqft has been excitedly following the progress of photographers James and Karla Murray's Seward Park art installation "Mom-and-Pops of the LES," from the announcement that they'd been chosen through the Art in the Parks UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant Program to their wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the wood-frame structure's build out. And now the piece, featuring four nearly life-size images of Lower East Side business that have mostly disappeared, is finally complete. James and Karla shared with 6sqft an exclusive time-lapse video of the installation process and chatted with us about why they chose these particular storefronts, what the build-out was like, and how they hope New Yorkers will learn from their message.
Watch the video and hear from James and Karla
May 23, 2018

Help bring this sculpture of lost Lower East Side mom-and-pops to Seward Park

After publishing their first account of small businesses in NYC a decade ago with their seminal book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York,” photographers James and Karla Murray are now ready to bring their work back to the street. As 6sqft previously reported, "the husband-and-wife team has designed an art installation for Seward Park, a wood-frame structure that will feature four nearly life-size images of Lower East Side business that have mostly disappeared--a bodega, a coffee shop/luncheonette (the recently lost Cup & Saucer), a deli (Katz's), and a newsstand (Chung’s Candy & Soda Stand). Though the installation is part of the Art in the Parks UNIQLO Park Expressions Grant Program, there are still high costs associated with materials, fabrication, and installation, so James and Karla have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the additional funds.
More details
February 27, 2018

‘Store Front’ photographers plan a life-size memorial to lost Lower East Side mom-and-pops

Photographers James and Karla Murray published their first account of small businesses in NYC a decade ago with their seminal book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York,” which captured hundreds of mom-and-pops and their iconic facades, many of them since shuttered, along with interviews with the business owners. They've since published two follow-ups, "New York Nights" and "Store Front II-A History Preserved," winning countless awards and gaining local and national fame for their documentation of a vanishing retail culture. And this summer, they're bringing their work to a larger scale than ever. The Lo-Down reports that the husband-and-wife team has designed an art installation for Seward Park, a wood-frame structure that will feature four nearly life-size images of Lower East Side business that have disappeared--a bodega, a coffee shop/luncheonette (the recently lost Cup & Saucer), a vintage store, and a newsstand.
More details
May 25, 2016

$40 Million Overhaul Will Make 8 Parks More Neighborhood-Friendly

The city has announced plans to make eight of the city's parks more welcoming and integrated into their surrounding neighborhoods, the New York Times reports. According to officials, the green-space face-lifts are part of a plan to improve city parks and part of the larger goal of having 85 percent of New Yorkers living within walking distance of a park. The parks, chosen by a nomination process that used feedback from residents, include Seward Park on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Faber Pool and Park on the North Shore of Staten Island, Jackie Robinson Park in northern Manhattan, Van Cortlandt Park and Hugh Grant Circle and Virginia Park in the Bronx, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, and Fort Greene and Prospect Parks in Brooklyn. According to parks commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, the many improvement suggestions the city received were "proof positive of how excited New Yorkers are to increase accessibility and openness in their favorite parks.”
Find out more about the park plans
December 4, 2014

Walk This Way: How Observant Jews Shop for Real Estate with the Torah in Mind

Certain neighborhoods are becoming increasingly sought after by observant Jews—but in keeping with what is written in the Torah, apartment hunting can be a formidable undertaking. Observant Jews not only have to deal with New York City’s low vacancy rate but they need to find a home that, most importantly, is within walking distance to shul (synagogue) from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday and some Jewish holidays—owing to the fact that Sabbath obligations, of which there are a lot, do not allow one to drive a car. It goes against what’s written in the Torah to start or extinguish fires during the Sabbath, and, well, cars burn fuel. And by the way, this also means cooking only one, single, solitary item.
Find out more here