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For Immediate Release
February 25, 2019

Contacts:
Rachaele Raynoff, Joe Marvilli – press@planning.nyc.gov (212) 720-3471

Three Weeks to Go To Enter NYC’s POPS Logo Competition

PSA Starts Running Today on Taxi TV and NYC’s Official Media Channels to Promote This Design Opportunity

NEW YORK – Department of City Planning (DCP) Director Marisa Lago today announced a PSA campaign to amplify a design competition for a logo to be displayed at New York City’s more than 550 plazas, arcades, and other Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS). 

“New York City is looking for an iconic new logo that encapsulates the quality and variety of the beloved public spaces that we call POPS. Please share your vision with us! With three weeks left before the March 15th competition deadline, it’s time to get your creativity flowing. Don’t miss out!” DCP Director Marisa Lago said.

Released three weeks before the Competition deadline, the 30-second PSA will air on “Taxi TV,” the electronic screens in both yellow and green cabs, as well as on NYC Media, the official radio, television, and online media network of the City of New York. The message will run until the submission deadline of March 15, 2019.

The Competition website can be found at www.popslogo.nyc. The Competition is free and open to all to enter. The selected designer will receive $4,000!

Starting today, the PSA will:

  • Run on Taxi TV in the 13,600 Yellow Taxis and 6,000 Green Taxis that serve riders, and result in approximately 7.3 million views per month and,
  • Play several times throughout the day on multiple channels of NYC Media, which reaches 18 million people in a 50-mile viewing radius, and
  • Air on radio station WNYE 91.5FM.


About POPS

POPS are the result of City zoning regulations aimed at ensuring that the densest areas of the city offer outdoor and indoor places that are usable by the public without charge. The POPS program has produced nearly 3.8 million square feet of additional public space in the City – equivalent to roughly nine Bryant Parks, 24 Union Squares, or roughly 10 percent of Central Park.

POPS are spaces dedicated to public use and enjoyment. They are owned and maintained by private property owners. POPS come in many shapes and sizes, located both outdoors and indoors. POPS are now required to include public space signage, informing New Yorkers and visitors about hours of access, required amenities such as seating, and to report any complaints to 311. 

POPS Logo Competition Next Steps
The POPS Logo Design Competition is open to any individual, group of individuals, or legal entity worldwide, except as noted in the Competition Conditions and Terms. For more details, go to the Competition website at www.popslogo.nyc.

Following the March 15th deadline, submissions will be posted online and displayed at a public exhibit in March 2019, inviting the public to view all submissions and vote for its favorite logos. A seven-person panel, along with the public vote, will select up to three awardees, each of whom will receive $2,000 and be honored at a public event. From these selected logos, DCP’s Director Lago may choose one to become the official New York City POPS logo, and that awardee will receive an additional $2,000. Awards are provided through a gift by Knoll. Awardees and the City’s choice for the official New York City POPS logo will be announced online on Monday, May 20, 2019.

The seven members of the panel who, along with the public vote, will select Awardees are:

  • Jerold S. Kayden, Frank Backus Williams Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard University and President, Advocates for Privately Owned Public Space (Presiding Panelist)
  • Glen Cummings, Creative Director, MTWTF
  • Katherine Farley, Chair, Lincoln Center Board of Directors
  • Elizabeth Goldstein, President, The Municipal Art Society of New York
  • Marisa Lago, Chair, New York City Planning Commission and Director, New York City Department of City Planning
  • Kim Mathews, Principal Emerita, MNLA
  • Justin Garrett Moore, Executive Director, New York City Public Design Commission

More information on POPS can be found at DCP’s recently updated web page, http://nyc.gov/pops and its newly unveiled interactive map at https://capitalplanning.nyc.gov/pops, and at the APOPS|MAS website at http://apops.mas.org. You can also follow the Competition on social media via #POPSLogoNYC.