The park with the most free public activities Bryant Park, new York's "busiest in the world," once hosted more than a thousand events and received 12 million frequent visitors throughout the year. During the pandemic, park administrators have moved some activities online, from yoga, ballet, online concerts to puppet DIY, which can be attended by people around the world if interested.
Located in Midtown Manhattan, New York, Bryant Park covers an area of 39,000 square meters, including 16,000 square meters of lawn, about the size of three football fields. The park is next to the New York Public Libary, and is about a 10-minute walk from famous landmarks such as Times Square, the Empire State Building, and the Grand Central Station. within 15 minutes.
There are many high-rise buildings around the park, mainly office buildings. At noon on weekdays, a large number of white-collar workers eat lunch and lunch breaks in the park, and take part in some activities held during the lunch break.
Bryant Park has continuous activities throughout the year. There are as many as 75 categories of annual activities listed on the website, covering literature, art, film, theater, various sports, dance, chess and card activities, taking into account both adults and children. As well as visitors from different cultural backgrounds, it fully demonstrates the scene of New York as a cultural melting pot. Also, these events are free to attend
Part of the reading corner is free to open the shelf to read newspapers and books, and there are also various reading-related activities specially planned, such as author meetings, poetry readings, language courses and writing workshops, etc., and all are specially designed for adults and children. 's planning.
There are perennial outdoor chess and card facilities, such as table tennis tables, chess tables, and even mahjong tables.
HBO movie nights and Broadway musical performances every summer
Ice rink and Christmas market Winter Village every winter
The facilities are top notch and create a great leisure scene. How is this done?
According to the public financial disclosure of the park operator Bryant Park Corporation, the park spent about 21.33 million US dollars ($21,337,996) in fiscal 2019, which is a staggering figure for a park. But correspondingly, BPC's total revenue in fiscal year 2019 was about 21.66 million US dollars ($21,661,040), and there was even a surplus of more than 300,000 US dollars, which can be said to be very good.
As you may have noticed, Byrant Park is not operated by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation. It is a "private" park that is open to the public free of charge. Why is Bryant Park like this?
This land was a mass grave in New York 200 years ago. Later, with the needs of urban development, a reservoir was built here. In 1851, when the London World's Fair was successfully held, the reservoir was demolished in New York, and a Crystal Palace was built on the original site according to the appearance of London. During the American Civil War, it was also known as the barracks of the Union Army. It was renamed Bryant Park in 1884 in tribute to the late Romantic poet William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878).
Also at that time, the New York City government began to build the New York City Library. The library was built in 1911 and the building itself is very beautiful. But Bryant Park, next to the library, has remained unpopular and has become a homeless shelter. In the 1830s, the park underwent a redesign and transformation that formed most of the landscape we see today.
The turnaround came in 1979. In the 1970s, as Manhattan grew, New York City began to renovate Bryant Park, and at the time Fortune editor William H. White, America's most influential critic on cities, people, and open space (William H. Whyte) joins the reorganization of the park.
William White was the Bole who discovered and recommended Jane Jacobs, while educating a generation of urban planners through his writings, especially The Organised Man, The Last Landscape, and The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces and designers. He firmly believes that cities should be viewed as places where people live, not simply as economic machines, transportation nodes, or giant architectural display platforms. And this concept runs through the management and operation of Bryant Park throughout, laying the foundation for the future success and influence of Bryant Park.
The first batch of renovation costs came from BPRC (the New York City Park Service, the New York City Library, and the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation jointly established the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation) (referred to as BPRC, which later evolved into the current Brayant Park Coorporation)
After the renovation was complete, BPRC hired Daniel A. Biederman, who not only graduated with MBAs from Princeton and Harvard, but was then chairman of the Community Board Five in Manhattan's Fifth District, to run the park. Not only professional management ability, but also human resources, the most important thing is to trust yourself and well implement William White's concept in operation.
Under the operational management of Daniel A. Biederman, the park established Bryant Park BID in 1995. Business Imrpovement Districts (BIDs), translated as "Business Promotion Districts" or "Business Improvement Districts", are public-private non-profit organizations composed of representatives of owners and operators. The purpose is to maintain, develop and promote the business development of the region and enhance the business environment. The cost comes mainly from the return of taxes to the area after the legislation is passed.
Bryant Park Corporation BID's budget for fiscal year 2019 is about $21.33 million ($21,337,996), ranking second behind Times Square (Time Square Alliance, with a budget of about $22.24 million in fiscal year 2019).
Unlike most BIDs established for the purpose of supporting businesses, Byrant Park BID is also the first BID in New York to support a park-based (and a small number of incidental businesses), with such sufficient financial support, it is also the best public activity to do. Well the most abundant BID.
Bryant Park (Bryant Park) is operated by a third-party organization so that the park carries a lot of activities and corresponding vitality. Like Central Park, it brings considerable brand and economic effects to New York City and its surrounding areas.
