Lincoln Center Plans Atrium Liberation

Gothamist was definitely heartened when we read that Lincoln Center is leasing and will reconceive the Harmony Atrium on Broadway and West 62nd Street. The Harmony Atrium has a sliver of an entrance where you can see a public rock climbing wall (run by ExtraVertical), some tables and chairs...and that's about it. The president of Lincoln Center, Reynold Levy, tells the NY Times, "We want to liberate the space, reduce the constraints and make it a real center, a beehive of activity. We would love people to say, 'Meet me at the atrium,' just as they say, 'Meet me at the fountain.'"

Lincoln Center wants to put at least ticket kiosks there and create a cafe atmosphere. And there's also a social issue aspect to whatever Lincoln Center's plans are, as many homeless people spend time there (Levy "envisions mobilizing the resources of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, social service agencies and elected officials" to work with the homeless). All in all, whatever Lincoln Center does will be a help, as we've passed by the atrium at least a hundred times, but never has it been enticing enough to enter. In that neighborhood, people just as soon go to the fountain or the plaza outside the Trump International.