Miracle on 34th Street (Abstract)

Volume 24 number 2 (1996)

John Pazmino

Abstract

(Abstract only) The global replacement of streetlights and rebuilding of outdoor illuminations continues in New York City. This talk highlights the progress made in 1995 along 34th Street, the busiest retail street on earth. The slides in this presentation show the preparation of the streets for the new lights, the ripping out of the old cobraheads, and placement of the elegant star safe new lampposts. Both day and night views show the realized reduction in glare and stray light. They also show the other new star safe features of the 34th Street district. Among these are removal of trashy headsigns, shielded lights on office towers, new and hyperemporia with almost no outdoor lights at all. A few examples of the last are noted below. Manhattan Mall (formerly A&S Plaza) is one of Manhattan's shopping malls with very stereotypical interior fittings. The outside, on the other hand, is devoid of garish lights, there being only a scarf of soft neon tubing. The site is plugged into two transit lines and one rail line, eradicating the need for huge parking lots. Madison Square Garden and Penn Plaza are now fitted with hooded lamps in ceilings and eaves. Their entry ramps and stairs are lit by footlights. A remarkable new structure is the international dark sky shrine next to Penn Station. This is the world's second-largest K-Mart, with 14,000 square meters of floorspace on four levels, Yet it will, when commissioned in mid-1996, have only a small outside headsign, no carpark at all, and direct entry from three rail nets and two transit lines. This store is estimated to emit less light into the sky than just one of the fast food shops on Alewife Brook Parkway near AAVSO Headquarters.