418 East 59th Street
The design and location of this compact residential plaza on the south side of East 59th Street between Sutton Place South and First Avenue guarantee that the city is never far behind. The shallow depth situates users practically on the public sidewalk, next to the street. The neighboring Queensboro Bridge and its nonstop traffic are also hard to ignore. Nonetheless, to its credit, the plaza invokes the attitude and language, if not the reality, of a small urban park. Almost everything is colored green, from the wooden lattice adorning the western wall to the old-fashioned park benches, lamps, and drinking fountain, to the four decorated planters filled with flowers and birch and evergreen trees. A sloping, stone bench is actually a sculpture, entitled Bench (1989), by Jean Jacques Perron and Carole Bory. Building residents enter their lobby under a canopy near the eastern end, but there is no sense of strong separation between public and private users.
During a July 2014 walk-through, we observed that the space appears to be a comfortable Residential Plaza with trash bins, seating and well-maintained planters. The Plaza is pleasant, and well-maintained. We also observed the following amenities, which are not required:
• Artwork
• Bicycle Parking
• Drinking Fountain
• Lighting
• Litter Receptacles
• Planting
• Plaque
• Seating
• Trees