BLIZZARD of JJ

Not all New Yorkers could get away to the beach or other fresh air. The Community Councils, a group of private citizens, operated 40 “play streets,” which were part of a city-wide summer recreation program that temporarily suspended traffic on 483 streets on weekday afternoons during July and August. Each street was painted, following a diagram that laid out shuffle board courts, paddle tennis courts, and a circular area for free play. The crew repainted the lines every two weeks. The Sanitation Department provided showers, placed in the middle of the streets, which were a big draw, attracting “hundreds of children into the play block who may never have come for game purposes.” The one above was alongside the Queensboro Bridge, June 22, 1934.

Philippe Halsman Joan Baez, New York City 1967