Through a robust participatory planning and community engagement process, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) is gathering input from the local community and broader public on how to create greater access along its Amsterdam Avenue side.
To date, approximately 3,400 neighbors, advocates, community groups, nearby educational institutions, elected officials, civic leaders, and other members of the New York City community have shared their ideas, interests, questions, and feedback through interactive pop-ups, in-person and online surveys, a community mural and memory wall, community gatherings, interviews, and focus groups.
Pulling from the responses we gathered from the community during our summer engagements, we landed on the below Planning Process Values to guide this work:
• Prioritize community needs
• Damrosch Park should feel welcoming, especially from the west
• Damrosch Park should continue to be about the arts
• The Park should have a flexible design
• The Park should be designed for the widest range of users
Over the summer of 2023, we engaged with more than 3,400 community members at 20+ events, both on and off the Lincoln Center campus. Community members shared their valuable input and insight about how they use Lincoln Center spaces, challenges they face accessing and navigating the campus, and ideas for improvement through surveys, interviews, focus groups, sticker activities, and art-making.
Fall Engagement (October – December 2023)
November 1st Community Workshop
70 community members, artists, and scholars joined us for an in-person workshop to contribute their ideas for reimagining the future of Damrosch Park. Participants worked together in groups to voice what their priorities would be for the redesign of the park.
December 11th NYCHA Resident Community Workshop
Over 60 residents of the Amsterdam Houses and Amsterdam Addition contributed their ideas to help reimagine Damrosch Park as a more welcoming and accessible park for all.
Photos by Lawrence Sumulong
December 12th Student Workshop
Over 30 students from LaGuardia High School and high schools on the Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Campus contributed their ideas to help reimagine Damrosch Park as a more welcoming and accessible park for students and young people in their community.
Photos by Lawrence Sumulong
What’s Next
Public engagement continues! The first stage of the process has been focused on understanding priorities, challenges, and opportunities. We will share an analysis of what we’ve learned throughout the planning process in the coming months.
We’ve received strong interest across stakeholder groups and communities in exploring ways to make Damrosch Park a more inviting, multi-functional, and accessible space. We’re continuing to hold participatory public events to dig deeper into these ideas.
Lincoln Center is continuing to lead the planning process in partnership with the award-winning architecture, urban design, and planning firm NADAAA and the nonprofit Hester Street, whose work focuses on centering the voices of people who are historically and currently excluded from decision-making processes in their neighborhoods and cities.