We are so excited to announce that Park(ing) Spot hosts can now register online for Park(ing) Day NYC 2010!

Our website is currently undergoing some updates but in the mean time you can register to host a Park(ing) Spot here. As always you’ll need to select your spot and gather some information before registering, so check out the How-To Guide! Also, the Department of Transportation has an online database of parking regulations for New York City so you can find out the parking rules at your spot here.

We hope that past Park(ing) Spot hosts will join us again this year. Your amazing creativity and hard work makes this event happen year after year. And if you know of other organizations or individuals who would be interested in hosting a Park(ing) Spot please send them our way!

If you have any questions or need some inspiration for your Park(ing) Spot please contact us at info@parkingdaynyc.org

We recently learned from a street reclaiming ally about the conversion of an underused parking lot to a library and reading room. This is a great example of how Park(ing) Day NYC can expand beyond a once a year event to a year-round occasion for local residents and street activists to re-envision and re-use their streets.

After:  Before:

More insight on the “Branch Library”, as told to us via email by organizer Jerome Chou:

During the week, the parking lot at the corner of Myrtle and Clinton Avenues in Clinton Hill/Fort Greene serves an adjacent Citibank branch. But every Sunday for the next two months, a group of residents and volunteers is transforming the lot into a temporary community library project called Branch.

This past Sunday the group launched the project, creating a temporary “Reading Room” complete with lawn chairs, free Sunday newspapers and earplugs. Over 150 people signed up as library members and recommended over 100 of their favorite books and authors for the library’s collection. (Council Member Letitia James stopped by to suggest Simple Justice: A History of Brown v. Board of Education.)

Last January, the Brooklyn Public Library was forced to cut all of its Sunday hours throughout the borough. During the recession, we’re all asked to accept budget cuts that affect public space (libraries, parks, subways, etc.). Branch is about pooling existing resources to reclaim those spaces, in partnership with the people using them.

The project is part of Move About Myrtle, a street fair sponsored by the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership that is closing 7 blocks of Myrtle Avenue to car traffic every Sunday in September, as part of Department of Transportation’s Weekend Walks initiative. Every Sunday, Branch will add components to the parking lot, such as workshops that allow people to plan and design the future space. Eventually, Branch will offer books and computer use, classes and performances—all free and open to the public.

If you’re interested in volunteering, donating books, or finding out more about the project, you can visit Branch every Sunday in September from 1-5pm until the end of October, or check out www.branchlibrary.org.