Super Sidewalk Fest Activates 9th Avenue Pedestrian Extension with Performers and Colorful Installation

Super Sidewalk Fest took over the one-year-old super-wide sidewalk extension on 9th Avenue on Saturday, as local transit activists celebrated being able to reclaim more space for pedestrians.

The festival featured tape art by artist Kuki , a New Orleans-style marching band, stilt walker Cassidy Haley , and activities for kids. It was organized by the grassroots group Clinton Hell’s Kitchen Chelsea Coalition for Pedestrian Safety (CHEKPEDS) .

“I think [the super sidewalk] is a wild success,” said transit advocate Lisa Orman, a member of CHEKPEDS’ board. “I have been out here all morning observing people and they seem to know how to use it, they seem to feel ownership over the space, I’ve seen people out with their dogs, with their kids, older people, younger people, it really does seem to be a hit.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” CHEKPEDS co-founder Christine Berthet said. “People are getting a sense of what a super-sidewalk is. And the other thing is that now that we have a super sidewalk we can have little parties like that, easy to do, without blocking traffic and major problems.”

To mark the occasion, NYC-based tape artist Kuki created bright colored interconnected arrows directing passersby in different directions. “Usually people, especially children, just follow the lines, they come up with their own games,” he said. Kuki has been making tape art fulltime for the past four years, but got his start back in the 1990s.

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