COURIER LIFE, SEPT. 4–10, 2020 17
OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
Sitting pretty
BY JESSICA PARKS
A handful of artists are embellishing
the benches on Bay Ridge’s Fifth
Avenue with hand-painted designs as
part of a long term project to beautify
the commercial corridor, said the initiative’s
leader.
“We were trying to fi gure out what
the neighborhood needed and we spoke
to all sorts of folks in the district,” said
Michael Devigne, a project manager
with the Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Business
Improvement District. “What I
fi rst discovered is there are a lot of artists
in Bay Ridge, and you don’t normally
hear much about that.”
The Bay Ridge business boosters
commissioned a group of New York
City-based artists for the “Arts on
the Avenue” project. The initiative —
which is funded with a grant from the
Department of Small Business Services
— intends to bring colorful art to
existing surfaces along the avenue.
Beautifying the main commercial
thoroughfare is also expected to be a
boon to Bay Ridge’s small businesses
by bringing an increase in foot traffi
c and enhancing the neighborhood’s
sense of place, artists said.
“Art is important throughout all
communities,” said Alicia Degener, a
Bay Ridge artist involved with the project.
“People react to art whether they
have studied art or just know what
they like. Art beautifi es our neighborhood
and gives people a sense of pride
in their community.”
So far, artists have painted 11
benches along the corridor — from
68th Street to 83rd Street — adorning
the surfaces with urban landscapes,
geometric designs, and other images
that showcase their individual styles.
“Each artist brings their own vision
of what they want to share,” Degener
said.
The BID connected with the local
Picassos through a southern Brooklyn
artists group, according to Degener,
who has also collaborated with the
BID on other local projects, such as the
Fifth Avenue Fair.
Some locals may recognize Degener’s
bench, located between Bay Ridge
Parkway and 74th Street, from its resemblance
to a window painting right
next to it, where she painted bubbles at
the beginning of the pandemic.
In the next steps of the “Arts on the
Avenue” program, the BID is planning
to host events to celebrate the new art
installments and to commission more
public art projects over the grant’s
three-year span.
“We want to have mini-events
around the benches and try to generate
more foot traffi c and involve the
merchants that are located near the
benches,” Devigne said.
Artists beautify Bay Ridge’s Fift h Ave
with new custom-painted benches
HAVE A SEAT: Locals pose with the newly painted bench. Photo by Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue BID