Meatpacking Unpacked: NYC Streets for People + Census 2020

September’s Meatpacking Unpacked: Community Connected episodes took a look into how we can make our community better through the Future Streets program and by filling out the census. We were joined by Fabian Jabro, Partner at Standard Architects, Jonathan Cohn, Associate Vice President + Transportation Architecture Practice Leader at AECOM, and Celine Armstrong, Project Executive at Little Island, and Amit Singh Bagga, Deputy Director of the NYC Census 2020 Office. See 3 takeaways from the episodes below. Stay tuned for upcoming guests in October and subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date. 

What are Future Streets? 

Future streets is an ad hoc group of designers that have come together to help transform the city and open the streets up to pedestrians. Celine Armstrong said, “25% of the city’s landmass is street, we need to be turning this over to people and making New York a more sustainable place for people to comfortably walk and enjoy.” In 2014, they started Parking Day where the group takes over parking spaces and reimagines the spaces. Each year the program grows and this year the group took over and reimagined Little West 12th Street. Learn more about the Future Streets program from Celine here and read more about the Future Streets installation here. 

Why is the Census so important? 

This census determines the rightful and fair distribution of money and power to states, cities, and communities. The federal government distributes to states and cities across the country based on the census figures. In addition to the funding, the seats in the House of Representatives are based on this population count and that changes every 10 years. “It’s really critical for any city or state and community, to ensure that they have the rightful access to the money and power that they should,” said Amit.  Hear more about why the 2020 Census is important from Amit here. 

It’s not too late to fill out the 2020 Census.

The 2020 Census deadline has been extended! You now have until October 31 to respond and it will only take you a few moments to do. With $1.5 trillion in funding on the line, make your voice heard and fill out the 2020 Census here. 

To watch full conversations from September guests click links below: Fabian Jabro, Jonathan Cohn, and Celine Armstrong and Amit Bagga here.