In late October, New Yorkers who happened to pass by Duarte Square—a half-acre triangular park in lower Manhattan—probably noticed a mysterious new structure being raised on a lot that once played host to Occupy Wall Street marchers. While on-site workers stayed tight-lipped over the next two weeks, curious city dwellers finally got answers when the expansive, transparent tent space opened its doors on November 9 as the headquarters for “Talking Transition,” a nonpartisan forum for New Yorkers to express their views to newly elected Mayor Bill de Blasio’s incoming administration.
The citywide program was not planned by de Blasio’s campaign however, but rather supported by an independent coalition of foundations, including the Ford Foundation, the New York Women’s Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, in an effort to create an open conversation about the future of New York and the city’s transition to a new mayor for the first time in 12 years. Running through November 23, de Blasio himself eventually showed up at the tent during the program’s final week.
The three-week program, which also included street teams canvassing high-traffic areas throughout the five boroughs, was centered around the 500-person-capacity temporary meeting space, designed by Production Glue. “Our directive was to design and create a space that was very open, inviting, and approachable,” said Jennifer Kurland, the event production firm’s principal and executive producer. “Transparency was a big message throughout the program. The content coming from inside the tent was the important part, and we just wanted to lay the groundwork for that.”