Union Square Then and Now
September 12, 2008 marked the 10th anniversary of the dedication of Union Square Park as a National Historic Landmark. It is a designation that includes its historical role as the site of the first Labor Day Parade on September 5, 1882, and the subsequent legislation for a national Labor Day holiday. Since that day, Union Square’s Pavilion and North Plaza have been primary sites for large public parades and rallies where the principles of freedom of assembly and speech are alive for us as they were in the stirring speeches of Norman Thomas, Cesar Chavez, Emma Goldman, Paul Robeson, and others. It is a place rich with the history of public assembly, free speech, and social activism in New York City.
For over 130 years, the park‘s pavilions have served as a playspace for children, a bandstand, a reviewing stand, a speakers’ rostrum, and as a focal point for labor rallies and social protests. Despite this illustrious history, the Union Square Partnership Business Improvement District (BID) is attempting to turn the pavilion into an upscale restaurant.
Program
Commissioned Artwork
Jesse Goldstein, Steve Lambert, Chris Rubino, Steven Marcus, Carolyn Ryder Cooley, Joan Linder
4-7 pm: Parks for People Draw-a-Thon
Open invitation to the general public to produce drawings that will be made into hand held signs carried at the celebration at 6 pm. Participants are invited to imagine and illustrate possbilities of public uses of the pavilion. Of the juried selections, 6 will be reproduced in a calendar entitled Parks for People 24/7.
Jury Members:
Martha Wilson, Exec. Dir., Franklin Furnace
Dara Greenwald, artist, activist, curator
Amanda McDonald Crowley, Exec. Dir., Eyebeam
4-7 pm: EXHIBITION
Tamiment Library/Wagner Archives, NYU
5-6 pm: Walking Tour
Kevin Baker, Author
Andrea Williams, New York Society for Acoustic Ecology
6-7 pm: Speakers
Simeon Bankoff, Exec. Dir., Historic Districts Council
Joshua B. Freeman, Historian, CUNY Grad Center
Ed Ott, Executive Director, NYC Central Labor Council AFL-CIO
Cecila Crudo, Organizer, Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York
Denis Hughes, President, NY State AFL-CIO
Deborah Glick, NYS Assembly Member
Richard N. Gottfried, NYS Assembly Member
Donna Schaper, Pastor, Judson Memorial Church
Geoffrey Croft, President, NYC Park Advocates
6-7 pm: Performers
The Approaching Storm Marching Band
Reverend Billy & the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir
James Solomon Benn
Endorsers
NYC Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO; NY State AFL-CIO; DC-37; United Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO; NY Labor History Association; Historic Districts Council; Tamiment Library/Wagner Archives-NYU; Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, Assembly Member Deborah Glick; Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer; NYC Park Advocates; Union Square Community Coalition; Workers Defense League; Rev. Billy & The Church of Stop Shopping; Chelsea Midtown Democrats; A.R.T.I.S.T.; Billionaires for Bush; Citizens for Union Square; Free103Point9; Judson Memorial Church; LaborArts.org; National Lawyers Guild - New York City Chapter; Not an Alternative; The “Our” Labyrinth Project; Pond: art, activism, and ideas; Radical Homosexual Agenda; Restaurant Opportunity Center-NY; Time’s UP; 250+ Friends of New York City Parks; Union Square Not For Sale; and more.
Acknowedgements
The efforts of many individuals made this celebration possible. Acknowledgements go to: Eadie Shanker, Geoffrey Croft, Simeon Bankoff, Savitri D, Vincent Alvarez, Rachel Bernstein, the late Deborah Bernhardt, Jon Bloom, Mark Read, Reverend Billy, Jason Jones, Winnie Fung, Marisa Jahn, Ben Shepard, Monica Hunken, Deanna Zandt, Ben Cerf, Paul Cole, Jack Taylor, and Michael O’Neil. Many thanks to the following organizations: NYC Park Advocates, Union Square Community Coalition, DC-37, Historic Districts Council; Tamiment Library/Wagner Archives, NYU. Special thanks to all those who have fought for our rights to public space and for free speech--then and now.