Concepts and Recommendations – Zone 2

Zone 2: Cultural Crossroads
Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center
The Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center, located at the southeast corner of 106th and Lexington, is the primary anchor of the Cultural Crossroads and Cultural Corridor. Named for the
renowned Puerto Rican poet who spent much of her life in El Barrio, the Center houses the Taller
Boricua Gallery, as well as performance and meeting spaces used for arts and other community
programs. Two schools are also located in the building.
The exterior of the landmark (1880), city-owned building has been carefully restored and the
interior renovated by preservation architect Raymond Plumey. Yet, for the remarkable activities
within, the exterior displays little evidence of what goes on here. A chain link fence detracts from
the appearance at street level and contributes to the public not feeling invited to enter. This situation is a significant missed opportunity for the Center and for the Cultural Corridor as a whole.
Furthermore, we are told that the city’s management of the building creates challenges for the
institutions housed here in establishing a more visibly permanent presence.
Recommended measures to enhance the visibility of the Julia de Burgos Center include:
EXISTING BUILDING WITHOUT SIGNAGE
• Signage and banners at the exterior of the building, marking its significance as an anchor
institution and announcing temporary exhibitions and programs;
• Other simple exterior improvements, such as removal of the chain link fence should be
undertaken immediately; concrete paving within the fencing can be removed as an area for
simple landscaping at the base of the building, incorporating seating and lighting within
this zone to frame the entrance on Lexington at the middle of the block;
• Create operating stability for the Julia de Burgos Center by transferring management of the
building to the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and ensuring long-term leases
for the tenant organizations;
• To address a shortage of affordable space for small cultural organizations, consider moving
schools currently housed on upper floors to other locations in the community, possibly in
space held by other schools or community facilities.
56
PROPOSED SIGNAGE LOCATIONS
LANDSCAPING
LANDSCAPING
NOT TO SCALE
PROPOSED SITE PLAN: JULIA DE BURGOS CENTER
57
Zone 2: Cultural Crossroads
Intact Walk-up Block
Facade improvements and building rehabs are particularly important for the “walk-up block”
at the core of the Cultural Crossroads between Lexington and Third Avenues. Storefront
improvements and full rehabs of buildings with vacant upper floors can achieve several
objectives at once: preserving historic building fabric; expressing the identity of the Cultural
Corridor; spurring local economic development; and providing additional housing.
High-quality storefront improvements that express the cultural richness of the area and the
uniqueness of individual businesses can be encouraged with incentive programs and technical
assistance. Although “unified signage” is sometimes seen as an expedient way to encourage
storefront upgrades, it usually has the unintended consequence of homogenizing a district
rather than emphasizing its diversity and artistic expressiveness. The recommended alternative
is to encourage custom-designed signs and awnings that are appropriately scaled and placed
within their architectural context. An excellent example on this block is the sign for La Fonda
Boricua. Hand-crafted by the restaurant’s owners, it conveys personality and distinctiveness yet
fits in scale with the storefront and the building.
By substituting open grilles for the solid roll-down gates currently used on many storefronts,
owners can increase the visibility of their businesses and help improve nighttime safety with the
ambient lighting and sense of “eyes on the street” that shop windows provide.
Given the unique configuration of this block--comprised entirely of buildings of the same size,
period and style--it has been suggested that property owners might exploit the views of the
open space at the interior of the block by combining rear-yard spaces to form one or more
common areas. These courtyard spaces could accommodate patio dining, art exhibits or gallery
openings, or semi-public gardens with connections through to the street.
Other measures to consider include restoring the cornices on buildings where they have been
removed; creating signage for the PRDream/MediaNoche gallery at the middle of the block; and
exploring, through expansion of the commercial overlay district, the possibility of increasing
ground-floor commercial activity on this block.
58
La Fonda Boricua, with handcrafted signage
ELEVATION: 106TH FROM LEXINGTON AVENUE TO THIRD AVENUE LOOKING NORTH
59
Zone 2: Cultural Crossroads
White Playground
White Playground is an important community asset, used year-round by neighborhood children
and adults and serving as the main outdoor space for the Amber School nearby. In summer the
handball court transforms into an outdoor theater for free movies.
Because of its importance and centrality, White Playground has been called the “community
living room.” However, despite its location and the heavy use it enjoys, it is a stark space that
can stand improvement to better serve the community in accommodating a mix of active and
passive recreation. Conceiving of this space within the framework of the Cultural Crossroads/
Corridor expands the possibilities.
The plan at far right shows a concept for redesigning White Playground that would maximize
gathering spaces while keeping the same amount of space for active recreation--handball,
basketball, children’s play. If vacant property--currently a parking lot--could be acquired between
the park and Lexington Avenue, a new connection could be created facing the entrance to the
Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center. This link would help to unify the cultural core by better
connecting the de Burgos Center with galleries and restaurants on 106th Street, simultaneously
enhancing the park’s utility and expanding its potential to host community and cultural events
such as gallery nights and festivals.
The vacant lots and free-standing buildings at the northwest and southwest corners of block
present new opportunities when considered together with a redesign of the park. These sites
might integrate new construction with existing buildings and exploit the advantage of having
four open sides to create improved apartment layouts around a single elevator core. Acquiring
these properties might allow for a land-swap that could result in an improved configuration for
the park design, as well as for these small infill sites.
Multi-use outdoor spaces:
(top) Handball court in playground;
(center) Summer movies at handball court;
(bottom) MediaNoche opening across street
60
POTENTIAL
REDEVELOPMENT
POTENTIAL
REDEVELOPMENT
NOT TO SCALE
PROPOSED PLAN: WHITE PLAYGROUND
61
Zone 2: Cultural Crossroads
Lexington to Third, South Side
The coherence and continuity of the Cultural Crossroads is severely hindered by the fragmented
streetwall on the south side of 106th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues. Breaking
the line of solid, five-story tenements is a vacant lot and the 175-foot long expanse of chain link
fence across the front of White Park Playground. While the park is a community asset, the face it
presents to the public right-of-way is a liability in fostering activity on the street.
Together with improvements to the interior of the park, this front “facade” of White Playground
offers an opportunity for a large scale art installation at the core of the Cultural Crossroads. For
example, a permanent or rotating exhibition of the work of local artists could be designed as part
of a new fence and gateway to the park. Taller Boricua might sponsor a project for local artists to
collaborate with landscape architects from the Parks Department in designing the entry as part
of a more subtle, buffered transition between the sidewalk and the space within the park.
EXISTING PLAYGROUND ENTRANCE
The “elevation” views on the opposite page present some of the smaller and larger interventions
that add up to restoring continuity and solidity to this block. As mentioned previously,
considering the properties to the west of the park as an opportunity for combining new infill
construction with the rehab of existing buildings creates a more substantial anchor for this
corner that balances and frames the open space.
PROPOSED ART INSTALLATION/ENTRY
AT WHITE PARK PLAYGROUND
62
EXISTING ELEVATION: WHITE PLAYGROUND AND ADJACENT BUILDINGS
ELEVATION: 106TH FROM THIRD AVENUE TO LEXINGTON AVENUE, SOUTH SIDE
63