Good morning. It’s Monday. We’ll look at a 200-foot-long mural displayed in an unusual outdoor gallery — a construction site in Coney Island. We’ll also find out how rail-obsessed fans get into parked subway trains — and even go joyriding.
Last year the artist Vince Ballentine helped install a mural on the face of a hotel across from Kennedy Airport that shut down in the pandemic and was repurposed as affordable housing. “We could watch planes land,” he said. “We could literally turn around and see the landing gear coming down on the planes. Like, that’s scary.”
Now he is finishing a mural much closer to the ground, at street level in Coney Island in Brooklyn. It’s at least 50 feet wider than the mural in Queens is tall and surrounds a construction site.
It’s the latest effort to break the monotony of something that is almost as much a part of the New York landscape as buildings and bridges: the sidewalk shed.
There are thousands of them. Laid end to end, they would stretch from Manhattan to Montreal.
They only seem permanent, although some sheds remain up for years when projects drag on and on. Sheds protect pedestrians from falling debris when buildings are undergoing construction, inspection or repairs. And they have to be painted a uniform shade of green.
But under a city law, they can be decorated. In 2024, the Department of Cultural Affairs posted an online gallery of preapproved designs that developers and project managers could choose from.
And ArtBridge, a nonprofit group, has worked to turn sidewalk sheds and other “underutilized public spaces” into large-scale canvases, giving exhibition spaces to artists like Ballentine. Jon Souza, the program director for ArtBridge, said it had been responsible for more than five linear miles of art on construction sheds and fences, including more than two miles at New York City Housing Authority developments.
ArtBridge claims credit for the tallest mural in Queens — the one across from J.F.K., designed by Danielle Mastrion for the former hotel. ArtBridge also commissioned the artist Vanesa Álvarez, working with Derval Fairweather, for a construction-site mural at Lincoln Center that is to be unveiled today as a $335 million overhaul of Damrosch Park gets underway.
When the inspiration is local
ArtBridge says the artists take cues from the community — Ballentine conducted workshops at Public School 288 in Coney Island. “The biggest point of impact is if somebody can say ‘I would like to see a star on the wall,’ and they walk by and see that star on the wall,” Souza said. “All of a sudden, it’s no longer just the artist’s work, it’s like, ‘Look at what I did,’ right? So there’s a piece of ownership.”
Joseph Ferrara — a partner in the development firm behind 1709 Surf Avenue, the Coney Island building with the mural — saw a different upside: “Get some excitement buzzing.”
“Not tourist excitement,” Ferrara said. He wanted to attract the attention of “the new residents coming to Coney,” not those who flood the streets when the amusement park is open or the minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones are playing in their stadium, but “moms and dads pushing strollers.”
Ballentine’s mural, “Surf’s Up,” surrounds the site of three new buildings with just under 1,250 apartments, including 65 for formerly homeless households. He included symbols of Coney Island that “paid homage to things that I know I can’t do.”
“I’ll never be a polar bear,” he said, referring to the chilly dip in the ocean that draws thousands to Coney Island on New Year’s Day, “and I’m not cute enough to be a mermaid, so I’ll never be in a Mermaid Parade.”
Weather
Expect a mostly cloudy day, with possible afternoon showers and temperatures near 75. Tonight will be partly cloudy, with a low around 60.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
In effect until May 14 (Solemnity of the Ascension).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We have showcased a new kind of approach to governing in our city — pothole politics. Delivering public goods coupled with public excellence.” — Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who last week spent part of his 100th day in office helping Sanitation Department workers pick up trash in the Bronx.
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Steal a subway train? It takes the right key.
How easy is it to steal a subway train?
Rail-obsessed teenagers say it takes only a key, available online for as little as $2, to break into a train operator’s booth. Then it’s possible to mess around with the control panel and even go for a joyride — all while filming video to post on TikTok, Instagram and Discord.
It’s illegal for unauthorized people to possess official subway keys. Even having a skeleton key can lead to charges like possession of burglar’s tools, a Class A misdemeanor that can lead to up to a year in prison.
But that has not deterred those determined to drive trains. Last year, 23 incidents where a train was moved without authorization were reported to the Police Department. There were a dozen in just the first three months of this year.
Gael, a 18-year-old rail fan whom my colleague Sarah Maslin Nir interviewed, played down the potentially serious consequences. “It is a crime, but we’re not here to hurt anybody,” he said. “We just like to have fun.”
METROPOLITAN diary
Tea and empathy
Dear Diary:
It was a cold, dreary winter afternoon. I was at a coffee shop near Lincoln Center, sitting next to a young woman who was studying something on her phone.
I opened my computer. My tea and apple turnover arrived.
“How can it be only 250 calories?” I said, savoring a bite. “It’s delicious.”
“I just got fired,” the woman next to me said.
“Oh,” I said. “There’s something better for you.”
“I teach piano part time,” she said. “I need something else — an office job.”
“I get it,” I said.
“I had a sugar daddy,” she said.
“You don’t need a sugar daddy,” I replied. “Look at you. You’re young and intelligent and beautiful. You’re a goddess!”
“I want you to have true love,” I added, only vaguely aware I was talking with a stranger.
“I think I fell in love with him,” she said. “But he was here one day and gone the next. He knew I was working, not taking advantage.”
I tried to digest what she was telling me.
“You’re a goddess,” she said. “You’re a reflection.”
“We’re goddesses who need work,” I remarked.
“I already found some other things,” she said.
She began to put on her coat.
“Give me your card,” I said.
“Give me yours,” she replied.
Back at home, I listened to her play the piano online. It was pure, a window into her heart.
Weeks later, I saw her again at the same coffee shop. This time, she was working there as a barista.
“I’m going to be touring in Europe for two weeks,” she volunteered. Nodding toward 65th Street, she added: “Then I’ll have a concert here.”
“Wow,” I said. “I look forward to it!”
— Alice Hogan
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
Glad we could get together here. I’ll be away tomorrow. See you on Wednesday. — J.B.
Davaughnia Wilson and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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James Barron writes the New York Today newsletter, a morning roundup of what’s happening in the city.
The post A Mermaid, a Ballplayer: This Mural Salutes Coney Island appeared first on New York Times.
