By Scott Etkin
New York City’s Public Design Commission, the agency that reviews changes to the city’s public spaces, on Monday unanimously approved a preliminary redesign for Damrosch Park, the outdoor performance space on the west side of Lincoln Center’s campus.
The commission gave its approval to a series of landscape architecture changes intended to make audiences more comfortable inside the park, while also limiting the noise from performances that can be heard in streets surrounding the park.
For spectators at Summer for the City outdoor performances taking place at Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center this year, there’s no shady spot to take in the music; the new plan would add green areas in the park where music can be heard. And the current seating layout for performances means that spectators in the back row are 160 feet away from the stage; the redesign would put seating in a semicircle around the stage, so no seat is more than 88 feet from the stage.
This setup brings “everyone much closer to the stage, and there isn’t this sense of being in the back or in the front, which is currently the rectangular format,” said Michael Manfredi, cofounder of the design firm WEISS/MANFREDI, during a presentation to the commission. “It also allows us to reduce the acoustic levels it takes to project sound.”
A proposed 18-foot trellis and groves of trees to the west of the new stage are also planned as part of the overall park’s design to help reduce sound levels.
The new performance venue would be facing northwest (toward Amsterdam Avenue), unlike Damrosch Park’s current Guggenheim Bandshell, which faces east. A more detailed sound design study to model the impact of changing the orientation of the concert space is underway by Jaffe Holden, an acoustic consulting firm that has done work at Lincoln Center and many major outdoor venues around the world.
The proposed performance space is roughly 10,000 square feet smaller than the existing one. The difference will be allocated to a park that will be open to the public, even when concerts are going on. In the current setup, there’s no non-ticketed access to the park during performances.
A representative from Landmark West!, a preservation group on the Upper West Side, endorsed parts of the plan – such as its environmental benefits and ADA improvements – but lamented the loss of the Guggenheim Bandshell and the design’s move away from the park’s austere, Modernist aesthetic. “Even when unpopulated, the park appears frenetic and busy,” said Megan Fitzpatrick, the group’s director of preservation and research.
The commission urged Lincoln Center to simplify some elements of the park’s design, such as the variety of materials used, to address this concern.
“We can see that the spatial and architectural legacy is represented here,” said Deborah Marton, president of the design commission. “I think it’s important for all constituents and stakeholders that you lead with that in some way.”
Lincoln Center will return to the commission to seek approval for architectural elements of the design, a representative confirmed to the Rag. The organization’s goal is to complete the renovation in the spring of 2028.
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I am still trying to make sense of the $335 million price tag, especially given this is a park that already exists, and they are just reconfiguring it and taking down a wall on the Amsterdam side, but $335 million? Seems like a LOT of money for such a small project.
I agree. The arts in NYC would be helped a lot more by plowing $335;million into fledging theater and performance groups. They are removing the Robert Kiley-designed Damrosch Park in the name of inclusion when there would be much less costly ways to create a welcoming entrance from Amsterdam Avenue. This new venue will also seat fewer people, which is not inclusive.nand does not expand access to the arts. Robert Kikey was a master landscape architect and his work should be preserved.
50-100 million in Bribes and kick backs this is NYC it cost 400K to renovate a one bedroom apartment.
When you renovated your one-bedroom apartment, did you pay bribes and kickbacks, or are you just speaking from inexperience? I renovated my studio apartment 20 years ago, but the cost factor was determined by me. I paid no bribes or kickbacks. I did, however, invest in some very expensive marble, but it was solely my choice.
There’s a large parking garage + a street beneath the park.
This proposal isn’t clear about what is to happen to the garage and street, which connects to a traffic circle under the plaza.
But I really suspect that designers haven’t visited Damrosch Park IRL.
That has nothing to do with the park, which is above ground.
Well, the steps up from Amsterdam are where an entrance to the parking garage is right now. That’s a big change.
Hard to tell what the plans for the garage entrance and street off of 62nd are.
Perhaps the designers will work on these things when they visit Damrosch Park.
The colour image above has deleted a significant part of the the Metropolitan Opera which projects out southward — breaking the continuous south wall of the Met.
The Met Opera will NOT be getting rid of its stage right “well”, which contains sets that have been rolled off to stage right.
In fact, it’s not just the colour rendering that deletes a major part of the Metropolitan Opera; the plan view of the proposed park change ALSO eliminates the same part of the Met, while the plan view of the existing Damrosch Park correctly includes the part of the Met Opera that houses the stage right “well”.
I have to wonder if the designers/planners of this park change/rebuilding have ever visited Lincoln Center. I can be certain that they’ve never communicated with anyone at the Metropolitan Opera.
All you have to do to reduce noise is to eliminate all use of amplification. A bandshell is designed to do that naturally. What they should is simply move the bandshell to the corner location.
The renovation is not about noise. It’s about the wall shutting off Amsterdam Avenue.
Where will the Duane Reade, TD Bank, or CVS go?
Right alongside the nail salon.
Looks perfect – they did an excellent design. Always amazing to be whenever something is new the typical NYC contingency of leave it the way it was comes out. Many people just hate progress.
it does look good, but this could be the end to the Big Apple Circus, and that’s bad
I really wish LC would remove the opaque sidewalk banners that block the view of the interiors from the sidewalk. We used to love to hang out outside and people watch and listen to the music. Now the view is limited and they have big lines to enter. Not neighborhood friendly.
I’d like to see all the alternate plans & know why this expensive one was chosen!
I’ve been to many concerts there. Nearly all the noise from blaring fire engines, police car sirens, etc. comes from Amsterdam Ave. There is a fire station as well, right there. I don’t see how turning the stage towards Amsterdam Ave. is going to improve that situation at all. It makes no sense. What are they thinking?