Vacant Spaces NY begins gathering the incomplete data available and
documenting vacant spaces in New York City. Organized from large to
small, general to specific, vacancy in the United States to case studies
of specific vacancies in Manhattan, Michael Meredith, Hilary Sample, and
their architecture studio MOS imagine possibilities for repurposing
current vacant spaces in New York City.
This project began by walking around our neighborhood noticing empty
storefronts. Once we saw them, they were everywhere. They followed us,
appearing quietly throughout New York City. Many with no signage, no
"for rent," no "coming soon." Usually empty, sometimes dusty, sometimes
with brown paper covering the glass. Now, vacancy has only increased. In
the densest city in the United States. During a housing crisis.
Throughout a pandemic. The quantity of vacant spaces is anyone's best
guess. It's only partially documented. They hide in plain sight.
Vacant Spaces NY is organized from large to small, general to specific.
It begins by looking at vacancy within the United States and continues
down to each Manhattan neighborhood, where we zoom into specific vacant
spaces, where we have provided as case studies that imagine some
possibilities for transforming current vacant spaces into housing or
social services. There is also a section on Covid 19, which infiltrated
New York during our research. As a whole, this document is not meant to
provide specific solutions. The data is incomplete. Case studies are
limited. We are not policy experts or data analysts or urban planners.
Instead, it is simply meant to show something we have taken for granted,
vacant spaces, taking part in a collective process of imagining a better
city.
