Now we're talking!
Let's bring some color to the city, yes!

how fast would that get tagged?

this is not a good look...

Wouldn't it be better to spend the money actually improving the livability of these buildings (Sprucing up the lobbies, improving the laundry rooms, fixing the elevators...) I don't see how a day-glo paint job improves NYC's notoriously ugly public housing.

I agree it would be fun and something different, but yeah, I agree with AliceNYC, I am sure the people living there would appreciate some upgrades to their building that were helpful to them and their way of life in general.

I'd rather see the projects torn down.

I also agree with ipantic, AliceNYC and JMcGee. Spending the money on improvements and possibly sprucing up these buildings would certainly be just as if not more eye catching than neon colors.

No. Really, most sincerely, no. It's bad enough being poor and living in ugly buildings without being made victim of cute design projects inflicted by people who don't actually have to live with the result.

I love it...and it's about art. Artists that want to share their gift on a grand scale...when the "orange fabric" was in Central Park did anyone say "this artist should have spent the money on sprucing up the interiors of buildings in the projects" most likely not. I get that things need to be improved for people but, these are 2 artists that want to use the buildings as a canvas...i think it's kinda neat.

No, no, no.

reclaimedspaces, I'll be the first to support Art, but the Gates weren't built on people's homes.

I think it looks kinda cool... but those bright colors are NOT going to look attractive in a year or two.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Reclaimedspace: Sometimes I'm just not certainthat I want to be the recipient of an artist's "shared gift". Can't I have a choice? But then I the sort to steer clear of mimes when I spot them.

I am on board with everyone that's saying the money should be spent on improving the buildings from the inside.

.....HOWEVER, I remember reading something about these guys a couple years ago and how their project in Brazil actually did improve the lives of the people living there. They took more pride in their neighborhood and the places they lived because they started viewing their homes as works of art and part of the neighborhood artwork. I know it sounds crazy, but I know I read that crime in the area went down and the general mood in the area went up. Correlation? Causation? I don't know, but I do know how much your environment can dictate your feelings.

If they did this, I think something in the style of the Favela paintings would look more like art and less like a pair of airbrushed jeans from the 80's. That's just my personal taste, though!

Thank you AliceNYC! I agree completely!

Okay, I'm an urban planning major who's studied low income housing extensively and the #1 problem with it is that it can be spotted a mile away causing social stigma. THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Hello, Haas&Haan

Thank you for your remarkable concept.

Now just leave us in NYC the fuck alone.

Thank You.

It's like La Boca which is a famous neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina where the buildings are painted several colors. It is a humble neighborhood where people traditionally used left over cans of paint to paint a part of the exterior of their house. It's a tourist attraction.

uh, no

bepsf, where would the folks go if it the public housing was torn down? That seems a flip, ignorant and classist response to a question that wasn't even asked.

I thought the jokes about how fatuous AT commenters were just jokes. Turns out it wasn't.

Anyway, painting anything neon has never solved one single problem. And heck yeah to what AliceNYC said.

I agree with both sides to this...definitely better to spend money fixing the inside of housing in order to make it adequate and safe. BUT, it is true that the outside appearance of buildings can help increase general pride in the neighborhood. As long as the residents are on board with it, I think it's a great idea!

And personally, I love the bright colours! They can come paint the outside of my house any day!

Also, I wish I could purchase that sketch of the buildings...It would look great in my living room :)

How do you say awesome ?????

"NYNEO"
and after you guys are done come over to San Diego we need some real color everything here sucks !!!

Perhaps the project could evolve into improving the insides and the outsides of the buildings. It doesn't have to be that particular design, and the people who live there could be included in the planning and execution.

Thank you for all the hard work you do in planning and photography. It’s MUCH appreciated!

Oh sure, those guys don't have to live here! Maybe Miami might like it.

Oh, heck yeah! I visted the Christo installation of the neon orange gates in Central Park and it was amazing how a serpentine splash of color cheered up the bleak winter landscape. So, why not paint a section of Manhattan in neon colors? As long as it doesn't look like grafitti, go for it.
Besides, it's only paint. It's easy to change.

It's beautiful, and for the purely practical minded, improving aesthetics does have positive impact on community. Art has a key and fundamental role in community development. Fostering the creative process and helping people believe in the existence of alternative solutions and envision them as real is what EVERY development effort requires for success. Fixing up lobbies and staircases will have zero lasting impact if people do not believe it is worthwhile to maintain them. Art and ONLY art gives us that creative mentality and the faith to aspire for a new future. So don't knock the spray paint.

Why not let local artists and community members decorate the buildings? That way at least the people who live there will have a say in what it looks like.

Sure, sprucing up a neighborhood can help create a real change in it (just google "broken windows"), but I really doubt this is the way to do it.

at the favelas of Rio yes. in iconic New York no. sorry

"where would the folks go if it the public housing was torn down? "

Did I say they SHOULD be torn down?
No, I said I'd RATHER see them torn down than painted in some weird psychedelic colorscheme.

Either way, spending government funds to fix up these old places is like throwing money down a well - If the folks who live there want a better place to live, they can move somewhere they can afford on their own without government subsidies.

No.. never ever ever.. no

Kind of a neat suggestion, very glad it will never be implemented.

Good grief - no way. What looks good in Buenos Aires does not translate to NYC. Dark, chic, elegant works in NYC - not wild, neon spraypainted.
bepsf is obviously not from NYC and doesn't know a thing about the cost of NYC real estate. Where do you think little worker bees that work here can afford to live, especially if they have children? Should we wall off Manhattan and only let the very rich live here? Oh, wait, that's where it's headed. Good luck getting stuff done when that happens.

i agree with tirzhaz.

and on another note....does this remind anyone of cinque terre?

@bepsf regarding your comment:

"Either way, spending government funds to fix up these old places is like throwing money down a well - If the folks who live there want a better place to live, they can move somewhere they can afford on their own without government subsidies."

As someone who grew up in low-income housing (with parents who worked their asses off, by the way), I find your comment rude, insensitive, and far removed from the realities of many people in this country. I am eternally grateful for being able to grow up in government-subsidized housing - it provided my family with something we were unable to afford otherwise - a home. Your taste in decor may be excellent, but your empathy towards those less fortunate could use some work.