Mayor de Blasio, DCP, APOPS, and MAS Announce First Ever NYC POPS Logo Design Competition

“POPS are open to the public just like any one of our amazing parks or plazas. This competition will give a fresh face to POPS across the city and encourage New Yorkers and visitors alike to enjoy these public spaces,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“What’s your creative idea for an eye-catching, welcoming logo to grace the entrance of hundreds of POPS sprinkled throughout New York City’s bustling business districts? We’d love to see it! The chosen design will become instantly recognizable to millions, and act as a draw for New Yorkers and visitors seeking a quiet spot for lunch, to read or to meet a friend,” DCP Director Marisa Lago said.

“Communicating through a logo the full meaning of public space as welcoming and inclusive places for diverse public uses is no easy task. Using an open design competition inviting members of the public to invent a symbol of ‘publicness’ to be placed at hundreds of plazas, arcades, and other outdoor and indoor POPS makes poetically good sense,” said Jerold Kayden, Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University and President, Advocates for Privately Owned Public Space.

“The POPS logo design Competition is a unique opportunity for one creative symbol to unify all POPS locations,” said Land Use Chair Council Member Rafael Salamanca. “My community cherishes our public spaces and I look forward to seeing the many innovative submissions to the Competition.”

The new logo will create a recognizable identity for the city’s wide variety of POPS, and by being included on POPS signage, will communicate that these spaces are open to the public.

The Competition accepts submissions from around the world. Participants must submit their submissions online on the Competition website by Friday, March 15, 2019. There is no fee to participate.

Submissions will be posted online and displayed at a public exhibit in March 2019, inviting the public to view all submissions and vote for its favorite logos. A seven-person panel, along with the public vote, will select up to three awardees, each of whom will receive $2,000 and be honored at a public event. From these selected logos, DCP’s Director Lago may choose one to become the official New York City POPS logo, and that awardee will receive an additional $2,000. Awards are provided through a gift by Knoll. Awardees and the City’s choice for the official New York City POPS logo will be announced online on Monday, May 20, 2019.

POPS are the result of City zoning regulations aimed at ensuring that the densest areas of the city offer outdoor and indoor places that are usable by the public without charge. The POPS program has produced nearly 3.8 million square feet of additional public space in the City — equivalent to roughly nine Bryant Parks, 24 Union Squares, or roughly 10% of Central Park.

POPS are spaces dedicated to public use and enjoyment. They are owned and maintained by private property owners. POPS come in many shapes and sizes, located both outdoors and indoors. POPS are now required to include public space signage, informing New Yorkers and visitors about hours of access, required amenities such as seating, and to report any complaints to 311.

The seven members of the panel who, along with the public vote, will select Awardees are:

• Jerold S. Kayden, Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University and President, Advocates for Privately Owned Public Space (Presiding Panelist)
• Glen Cummings, Creative Director, MTWTF
• Katherine Farley, Chair, Lincoln Center Board of Directors
• Elizabeth Goldstein, President, The Municipal Art Society of New York
• Marisa Lago, Chair, New York City Planning Commission and Director, New York City Department of City Planning
• Kim Mathews, Principal Emerita, MNLA
• Justin Garrett Moore, Executive Director, New York City Public Design Commission