Brooklyn's 7th Ave. Triangle Gets Its First Public Art Piece

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A new metal sculpture that appeared in whats known as the Seventh Avenue Triangle are the first to grace a small park that sits at the northern tip of the neighborhood.

The North Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District announced this week that the welded metal art piece had been added to the northeast corner of the triangle, which is bordered by Flatbush Avenue, Seventh Avenue and Park Place. The art piece is the first to be added to the park, the second ever public art installation by the business improvement district and the second public park installation for its artist, William Soltis.

Soltis said he was inspired to create the piece, called "Under the Sun," when he started noticing the renovations taking place at the triangle. It is part of a series of sculptures that Soltis made.

“The 7th Avenue triangle is near where I catch the train to work in the morning -- I saw the renovations taking place last year, and thought that the work would complement the new landscape," he said. "The work experiments with the human form, positive and negative relationships, and the interplay between the figure and the sculptural environment.”

(North Flatbush Avenue BID)

The renovation included improving the sidewalks and planting trees at the Sixth, Seventh and Carlton avenue triangles.

"This installation demonstrates how improved public spaces bring increased amenities to the commercial corridors, highlighting the behind-the-scenes efforts of New York City BIDs to make New York City a more safe and inviting place," the BID said.

Soltis is an art teacher at James Madison High School in Sheepshead Bay.

"Under the Sun" is his second piece of art featuring in a city park as part of the Art in the Parks program, which has been putting artwork into New York City parks for 50 years. The program has sponsored more than 2,000 artworks by 1,300 artists in more than 200 parks.

“We are thrilled to join the North Flatbush Business Improvement District in celebrating the installation of this sculpture,” said NYC Parks Senior Public Art Coordinator Elizabeth Masella.

The sculpture will be on display until July 2020 and first debuted on Sunday.