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David Byrne Breaks In NYC's First Pop-Up Cafe
By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 12, 2010
Modified Aug 12, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Aug 12, 2010
Modified Aug 12, 2010
Share
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Today cycling troubadour David Byrne joined NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and some other bureaucrats to cut the ribbon on the city's first "Pop-up Cafe." Located down on Pearl Street between Broad and some other street that doesn't have a name on Google Maps, the 84-foot-long, 6-foot-wide wooden platform is landscaped with planters, wire railing and furnished with 14 café tables and 50 chairs. Before everyone hyperventilates, please note that it was paid for and installed by two of the restaurants on the block (Fika Espresso and Bombay's restaurant), but it's open to all regardless of whether they make a purchase.
The eateries will maintain it and remove it later this year at their own expense, but given how the DOT operates under Sadik-Khan, this could just be the beginning of the Pop-Up invastion citywide! According to the DOT's press release, "The program's effectiveness will be evaluated to help determine if similar temporary spaces should be created elsewhere in the city." Similar Pop-up Cafés have proven popular in many European cities and in San Francisco, and this Streetsfilm video shows how similar ours is to the city of brotherly love's. Goodbye parking, hello kibitzing! Somewhere, Steve Cuozzo is bursting a capillary.
Tagged
david byrne
dot
janette sadik-khan
pearl street
pop-up cafe
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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