The last South Street Seaport planning meeting at the Howard Hughes Corporation probably went something like this:
HH Exec #1: I'm tired of Uno's pizza and tourist groups. I want some of those cool kids with beards to hang out here.
HH Exec #2: They love shipping containers. And twee food made in small batches with ingredients foraged in Prospect Park.
HH Exec #1: Perfect! Let's order some of each. And let's get some beach chairs and fake grass.
HH Exec #2: We should also have glitter rain, vintage hammocks, weird dance parties, and alcoholic slushies.
This is the only possible explanation for Howard Hughes' plans for See/Change, the "hipper" summer programming that will be bringing all of the above to the cobblestone streets around the Seaport.
The major makeover of Pier 17 and the South Street Seaport won't begin until the fall, but the Times reports that Howard Hughes Corporation planned See/Change in hopes of drawing more visitors to the area, which is still badly hurting from Hurricane Sandy. The businesses in the neighborhood suffered serious damage and completely lost the Christmas shopping season, so the additional summer programming aims to draw more people (i.e. hip locals) to the waterfront.
An outdoor stage will rise at Fulton and Water Streets, and a grassy lawn with canvas and wood chairs will be laid out in front for viewers to enjoy concerts and film screenings. Shipping container boutiques will offer new retails, and atop the containers, the Brooklyn Flea's ever-expanding local food market, Smorgasburg, will set up SmorgasBar. You can probably figure out what that will be.
The real gem in this plan, though, will takeover a space known as Cannon's Walk at 207A Front Street. It's a quiet alcove used mostly by neighborhood residents to avoid the tourists, but See/Change will bring in a company called Brightest Young Things to make it a "little surprise jewel box space where anything could happen." This is where you'll find the glitter rain, dance parties, and vintage hammocks.
· At Hurricane-Ravaged Seaport, New Forecast Calls for Glitter Rain [NYT]
· South Street Seaport coverage [Curbed]
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