Are NYC's Green Benches Becoming Extinct?

New York City's public benches have been around forever; you know them, they're wooden and green and have become a small little iconic part of the city's landscape. Recently we shuddered when a park in Brooklyn painted their benches in all sorts of eye-cringing neon, and now the Chelsea Improvement Company has introduced a whole new look to the street bench. Their modern take is now located at 10th Avenue and West 16th Street and is reportedly made of stainless steel—designed to reflect Chelsea's aesthetic. Should this modern bench madness stop before it spreads and consumes all of the classic green benches? Is it too late?!

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By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on September 1, 2010 3:31 PM

Comments [rss]

oh-can

According to the DNAinfo article that this posts refers to the base of the bench is stainless steel but the seats are carbon-steel plate. The seats seem to be spray painted or baked painted and have perforations, at least on the back.

ladyjane

things change! get over it!

Wza

If only this bench was around when Ajax tried to hit on the chick in the park.

Kevin Walsh

There are some real old-school benches on Ocean Avenue along Prospect Park, and Bensonhurst Park and Dyker Beach Parks in Brooklyn

www.forgotten-ny.com

jgonzz

Benches certainly are missing from the UES. Its something I never thought about until I fugged up my back in an accident. I can walk for a few blocks until I am forced to sit or find something to lean on. Benches are unpopular because homeless people build 'nests' on them. Not having a few sprinkled around sucks..

Xwendekar

I'm not sure this is the crisis you're making it out to be.

MT

Aren't the old wood ones more practical? If some idiot graffitis all over them you can just slap on a fresh coat of paint. Not sure what you could do to stainless steel. Is it washable?

WhereAmI

Yep stainless steel would be quite fun to sit on after an entire day of baking in the sun.

dr zippy

Can we pretty please assume that the caption for the next-to-the-last photo is from Life magazine and that Gothamist isn't really calling adult African-American men "boys"?

MT

You seriously went there? I think the rest of us saw the 'teenage' before than and did not assume it was a racial slur but rather some sort of mistake. Maybe you should chill out a bit.