Keep off the Grass

Flanked by two of New York’s largest green spaces—Central Park to the east, and Riverside Park to the west—Manhattan’s Upper West Side is certainly not short on opportunities for outdoor recreation. Nevertheless, the neighborhood gained 14,000 square feet of greenery last week with the opening of The GREEN on Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza. Designed by the theater world veteran Mimi Lien, the installation lays a synthetic turf lawn over an austere hardscape. The space has begun, and will continue, to host a program of open air performances through September.

During a weekend morning visit, the scene was strangely reminiscent of an idyllic suburban lawn, complete with freshly mown grass (the “biobased SYNLawn” turf was carefully trimmed to ensure a seamless expanse) and a monumental garden sprinkler in the form of Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s otherworldly Revson Fountain, installed in 2009. By eight o’clock Saturday morning, the space was buzzing with visitors. Wonderfully (and surprisingly) The GREEN is open to dogs.