Today was the first of three NYC Summer Streets events—the next two are Saturday, Aug. 13 and Saturday, Aug. 20, 7a–1p, both days.
So, what’s new this year? The route. It goes from the Brooklyn Bridge (various streets in lower Manhattan then permanently on Park Avenue) all the way up to 110th Street. Runners can run, cyclists can cycle, dog walkers can walk, skateboarders can—well, you get it. What else is new? Two more rest stops, at 81st and Park and 109th and Park, in addition to Foley Square, Astor Place, Rose Hill (26th/27th Sts.), and 51st St.
I volunteered today from 7a–11a, and will volunteer again next week. Today I was at the 51st Street rest stop. The tasks were slightly disorganized at the beginning, e.g., we attached signage to small marquee tents. Then we took the signage down and moved it to a different spot on the marquees. Then, apparently, they needed everyone to sign in, so I went to the various marquees with a sign-up sheet. Then I was asked if I had gotten the Brand Ambassadors to sign in. Um, nobody ever explained what a Brand Ambassador was, but once I figured it out, all was right with the world.
Fifty-first Street had bead stringing, Ojo de Dios weaving, temporary tattoos, watercolors for beginners, marching band hat making, plants of NYC, and a performance stage (a violinist, doing music minus one, aka karaoke for instrument—classical and light pop/theater/movie tunes; a jazz trio—guitar, trumpet, and drums; Music With A Message—a youth group performing NYC-centric tunes; and Sirens of Gotham, a close-harmony SATB a cappella group—think Barbershop + Sweet Adelines). For the most part, the music was pretty OK. MWAM was the most popular. As a result, at times four lanes of uptown Park Avenue were reduced to two. One of our missions was to try to keep the roadway clear for the runners, cyclists, etc. It was not easy, but we managed as best we could.
I’m going to try to volunteer at the 81st Street rest stop next week (a much easier commute!).
After my volunteer shift, I walked the route from 51st Street to 92nd Street. All in all, a pretty good day, not too hot, no accidents that I saw, and a lot of people having a lot of fun. Fingers crossed for good weather for the next two Saturdays. I will not be volunteering on Aug. 20, since that’s a concert day for Rite of Summer on Governors Island.
VolunteerMeister
https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets/html/route/event-map.shtml
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