»Gansevoort and Little W. 12th Street

The name Little W. 12th Street has stuck in my mind as both quaint and appealing. No longer: the city has undertaken to insult the cobbles of adjacent Gansevoort with heavy concrete blocks and odd bollards, (lest you think that the latter are reminiscent of chocolate truffles, the whole ensemble brings to mind East German public space circa 1976, in a particularly grey and dreary rainfall).

I have no idea what the city expects to accomplish: the heavy blocks will indeed prevent traffic from passing through and coerce speeding limousines into a meek line, but the overall effect is the opposite of what this pleasant space deserves. With the mixture of mid-rise hotel and several low-rise brick ateliers (n�e warehouses), some sort of low cement pedestal and brightly-coloured sculpture would fit, or a small plaza with a few honey locust or flowering dogwood trees.