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NYC Is Looking For Designers To Create An Official Logo For Public Spaces
By Mikelle Leow, 01 Mar 2019

Image via Shutterstock
Despite its nickname, the city that never sleeps actually wants its locals and visitors to find a place to rest.
It might come as a surprise to some that New York City is home to about 3.8 million square feet of resting zones for the general public to sit down and take a break. This is because these areas—called privately-owned public spaces (POPS)—aren’t properly marked.
In a bid to welcome members of the public to take a breather, the NYC Department of City Planning—along with the Municipal Art Society—is commissioning a new logo to be displayed at over 550 indoor and outdoor public spaces across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Anyone around the world can submit their design for the new POPS logo, which will be voted on by a seven-person panel and the public.
“We’re hoping for thousands of submissions,” Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the Municipal Art Society, told Observer. “These are badly needed open spaces in dense business districts. People need a place to take a breath, to cool their brains, for office workers to sit and eat their lunch.”
Designers of the three best brandings will receive up to US$2,000, with the final logo—chosen by NYC Department of City Planning Director Marisa Lago—entitling its creator an additional US$2,000.
According to Observer, private property owners are required to allocate public spaces in exchange for a scope of domain that might exceed zoning permits. For instance, if a building owner is awarded a few stories higher than their permit allows, they will have to create a POPS.
You can find out more about the POPS logo project here.
Looking north through the 550 Madison Avenue POPS. For more info, click here: http://t.co/FkJyYRBuli. pic.twitter.com/6KtobXi81V
— APOPS|MAS (@apopsmas) December 12, 2014
Looking south through 60 Wall Street. To learn more about this POPS, click here: http://t.co/46nk5eJzZq pic.twitter.com/M0GcMvNrhP
— APOPS|MAS (@apopsmas) December 16, 2014
Trump Tower's legally required public bench is finally back in place! https://t.co/QESXzJFWRO pic.twitter.com/tQLStozh8E
— APOPS|MAS (@apopsmas) July 20, 2016
[via Observer, cover image via Shutterstock]
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