As a follow-up to the reassurances that Plateau, by Andrea Blum, would soon become a popular seating area (see posts here and here), I thought I’d revisit the place now that the weather is fine.
The good news is, the University of Pennsylvania came to its senses and planted trees and shrubs all around.
The bad news is that although the plantings have leafed out, they are too young to have enough impact to overcome the forbidding lines and lack of color in the piece. They may yet make a difference, however, in a few years.
Until then, here’s the situation: I have occasionally seen people using the benches, but it’s still not a popular place. The tables across the street attract crowds.
As for the little cages at each end, fuggedaboutit. (Digression: Hey, we were driving on the Belt Parkway a couple of weeks ago, and as we left Brooklyn, an official sign said, Leaving Brooklyn, Fuggedaboutit)! Someone told me the idea was for the vendors to switch over to the cages. What vendor in his right mind would move from a friendly, open, sidewalk-adjacent booth to a prison cell across a black cinder approach? You can barely see one of the cages in the picture above. It’s between the trees and in front of the white wall.
Here’s a lonely sitter on a beautiful afternoon in summer. Not too hot. No rain. Not a lot of people.
